Phantom Reality
by SongOfStars
Summary: Year 4 of 7x: One by one, students collapse & end up in the hospital wing but when Professors start failing too, any hope of recovery is lost. Meanwhile, random events break out all over the castle. Is there a connection between the two?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers: **Nightstalker's mine I tell ya! MINE! AAAALLL mine! MWAHAHA!

"ity bity voice" But nothing else is...

**AN: **Well finally, it's here. The fourth edition to the MWPP, a continuation of Year 3: **_Friend Or Foe?_** ("mutters & MUST I do this every BEEP time? mutters") By the way, this is my first attempt at writing dark genre...thriller/horror...may rate it M just in case for later chapters...there will be some black magic, exhumal & something like that...but do let me know if I should change the rating to Kids Menu...lol

Anyway, sorry for not being around forever. Internet wasn't reconnected when we moved..stupid strike...then I had a friend I hadn't seen in about 7 years come over for a week...had lots of fun...movies...read HP book 5/6...oh & we spent a day shopping in Squamish (some place near Vancouver, Canada for those who haven't heard of it) We found this real pretty nail polish that goes on clear but adds a mother of pearl sheen to nails...& it was only one dollar (Canadian) at the liquidation store Fields (highly recommended store to go to if you ever visit this area)...sweet...anyway...sorry for the rambles...let's get on with the story!

**Summary: **Year 4: One by one, students collapse & end up in the hospital wing but when the Professors start failing too, any hope of recovery is lost. Meanwhile, random events break out all over the castle. Is there a connection between the two? rated M for certain scenes & black magic

(& why I have to have the summary up there when I'm having it down here I'll never know...but better just follow the Ffn guidlinesthen toget deleted right? Am I complaining to much all of a sudden? Yeah I am...shutting up now..lol)

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**Phantom Reality **

**Summary: Year 4: One by one, students collapse & end up in the hospital wing but when the Professors start failing too, any hope of recovery is lost. Meanwhile, random events break out all over the castle. Is there a connection between the two?**

_**Year 4 of 7+

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**_

**(1) Popcorn & Girls**

James Potter stretched & rolled out of bed...& landed on the floor with a yelp of surprise. Grumbling to himself, he got up & glanced around his bedroom. Two of his three friends shared the room with him; Peter Pettigrew was curled up in a tight ball under the quilts, Sirius Black was lying across the bed sprawled out & looking dead to the world. James knew however, that the moment his Mother called for breakfast, Sirius would be the first one down there, no matter what, unless...James slowly moved for the door & was part way downstairs.

"BREAKFAST!"

"Darn!" James muttered as what sounded like a thunderous herd fled past him. Not wanting to be the last one to arrive at the table in his own house, James quickened himself & arrived there moments before Peter did. The three of them began racing through breakfast.

"I feed you lot three times a day," Mrs. Potter said disapprovingly. "So it's impossible for you three to be starving. Honestly, slow down before you choke."

"Yes'm!" they muttered though not slowing down.

"Well at least I know I'm a good cook," Mrs. Potter simpered.

Whether or not she was a good cook was beside the point. The boys were in a rush because they wanted to get back to reading a certain book before going back to school, as this was the last day of holidays. They were trying to learn Animagic, a special power that allowed one to turn into an animal, to help their friend Remus Lupin, who was a werewolf; however, the magic was complex beyond their years & there was a lot to study such as potions Hogwarts will never see & advanced spells taught only to such people as are in the Ministry Of Magic.

"I feel like we haven't done anything," Sirius muttered. The three of them had been back in James's bedroom for the past two hours trying to absorb the heavy tome.

"Oh we've done a bit," James encouraged.

"Like what?"

"Well," James thought for a moment. "We did that first potion while still at school, the one supposed to grant us metamorphing abilities. We're also taking each of these potions at the time said to take them."

"But I wanted to do this before going back to school!" Sirius complained.

"Maybe we'll finish it off there this year," said Peter. "We still have all this to go through," he pointed at the list in the book.

There was a potion to have that would help one to keep their form even while sleeping, but that was not before they actually performed a Transfiguration, which was not before they performed the _Anima Espirit_, a complex spell that would allow one to change into an animal & back again for the rest of their lives. It would also ensure that they change into the same type of animal each time. But that was not before several more potions, one to make the user remember they were human while in animal form, one to make their future pelts look real, one to...the list went on & on as Peter pointed it out.

"& that's not before," Peter finished. "we even learn wandless magic. It's the only way to cast _Anima Espirit_ not to mention, _Reverso Animagio_ because animals can't talk. How are we to get back into human form otherwise?"

Sirius & James mumbled incoherently. After Peter had pointed out the list, they all were feeling thoroughly depressed.

"& we don't even know what we're going to change into," James muttered.

"Well it has to do with our character," Sirius flipped through the pages before pausing at a passage. "See? Here it says: 'Each Animage or Animagus form is as unique as the individual. The animal will always reflect your innermost character.'"

"Well in that case," James laughed. "You'll be a horse or maybe a unicorn if magical animal forms are allowed. You eat like one!" Sirius slammed the book shut & glared.

"You'll probably end up as an elephant then," Sirius snapped. "You're already big-headed."

"Maybe even a whale!" Peter laughed.

"Actually no," Sirius opened the book again. "'The spell _'Anima Espirit'_ is used for land-based or land-air animal forms such as birds or land-water animal forms such as seals. The variant spell, _'Aquima Espirit'_, is used for aquatic only animals while _'Areoma Espirit'_ is exclusively for air-based animals.'"

"Good," James muttered. "I really don't want to feel fat like an Orca."

"Yeah but nothing's stopping you from turning into one of those big ugly elephant seals," Sirius pointed out.

"What do you think you'd turn into, Pete?" James ignored Sirius who was now laughing hard.

"I 'unno...a rabbit I guess. Quiet-like & small."

"No that's to Remy-ish," James said. "He's always the quiet one...hmm HEY! He should learn Animagic! Then he could just turn into his animal form on the full moon & not the wolf."

"That won't work either," Sirius opened the book once more.

"Who are you?" James quizzed. "Bookhead Remus?"

Sirius ignored him. "Animagic is different from forced transformations like that of the Werewolf & the Vampire. It will not protect the Vampire from the sun or the Lycanthrope from the full moon. Animagic is sadly not a counter-spell for either curse."

"Oh well," James sighed.

"& I'm only 'Bookheaded' over this 'cause I'm anxious to just learn it already," Sirius muttered. "Finally something worthwhile to study."

"We'll just have to finish this at school," James said. "We should get packing."

They spent most of their evening rummaging through the house to find their belongs. Finally three trunks, Goliath the Potter family owl & Peter's new baby Jewel Tortoise he had found in the lake & had named Sparky (the shell was encrusted with several different precious stones) were ready to go.

The day of the trip to Kings Cross station was bright & hot. James, Sirius & Peter in turn slipped through the barrier between the muggle platforms of 9 & 10 to get to the Hogwarts Express at 9 & three-quarters. Remus was already on the other side waiting for them, his owl Nightstalker perched on his shoulder, was cuddling tightly into his neck as it went on sleeping.

"Hey guys," Remus caught their attention as Peter lastly stumbled through.

"Hi Rem, had a good summer?"

"Oh yeah," said Remus. "How was yours, Siri?"

"Dismal considering I had James & Peter with me half the time," Sirius teased.

"Have you seen Lily?" James asked hopefully, ignoring Sirius.

"Why would I want to see Lily?" Remus muttered. "I'm not into girls."

"You into guys?" Sirius asked. Remus had never performed a better death-like glare. "Just asking..." Sirius stepped backward a few times.

"Why?" Remus demanded to know.

"Well you said you're not into girls," Sirius defended. "I thought...maybe...maybe you meant..."

"_La ferme_, Black!" Remus snapped as James & Peter laughed silently. "I should have said, 'I'm not into girls YET!' & I just saw Lily over there, by the way." James hurried away in the direction Remus pointed.

"Ah, he's not into girls," Sirius then put his fingers up to make mock quotation marks. "'yet'! Got it." Remus couldn't think of anything to say so he simply bopped Sirius over the head with his book. Nightstalker squealed in surprise same time as Sirius & snuggled even tighter into Remus, digging his beak in.

"OW! _Nuit! Ton bec!_" ("OW! Night! Your beak!")

They had been on the train for over an hour, discussing summer vacation & watching the bright day slowly dwindle into a wet evening. Remus had finally pried his owl from himself though there was a bit of a red mark where the point of the owl's beak had dug in. Sirius started to say it looked like a hickey but Remus raised his book & threatened Sirius into silence.

James pouted over not getting a chance to see Lily; she had conveniently surrounded herself with...all those girls. Sirius raised an eyebrow & said with a sly smile, "You want to see her? Get out your cloak tonight when we go to bed."

"I thought those stairs were gender-sensitive?" James hadn't forgotten how those stairs treated him.

"There's another way," Sirius said coyly.

"Hey how's Andie?" Remus asked.

"I don't know," Sirius asked. "She didn't write to me yet. Oh, any ideas about that black letter Dumbledore got?"

Remus shrugged. "Wonder if he's back yet."

As the train pulled into the station, a strong downpour of water fell from the sky & the wind was no help. Sirius had no hope of getting to the castle dry this time & he was getting worried for he was running out of years to do so. The only good thing was that everyone else was soaked as well.

The students of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft & Wizardry shivered as they hurried to their respective House Tables. Remus cast a drying charm over himself & anyone who wanted it. As everyone got settled the new First years waddled in, small, looking terrified & virtually swimming in their own clothing.

"Can't believe we were that small once," James said.

"At least we weren't that scared-looking," Sirius added, hearing a snort from Remus. "What?"

"Nothing," Remus snickered. The sorting dragged on. Remus sighed & glanced over the other three tables, starting with Slytherin. Severus Snape, the Marauders favorite punch bag was talking with his two friends Lucius Malfoy & Regulus Black. Remus soon scanned over the Hufflepuff Table, then Ravenclaw, spotting Sirius's girlfriend who they have yet to learn the name. Remus watched her for a while feeling oddly mesmerized. He soon decided that this girl wasn't exactly human. She wasn't a Lycan either, Remus would know if another crossed his territory especially a female & possible future mate. He couldn't figure it out & stared at the other end of Ravenclaw table; though soon wished he hadn't. Remus jumped as if touched by a mega volt, knocking over his pumpkin juice.

"What's your problem?" James yelped as the juice landed in his lap.

"Look there," Remus pointed at the Ravenclaw table. "See that person?"

"Which one?" James grumbled.

"Him, there. Blondish hair just like mine."

"You're pointing at a girl, Rem," Sirius said. Remus scowled & looked again but all he saw was a girl.

"Oh…never mind," Remus muttered, the person had suddenly vanished though he had an odd feeling he knew whoever it was. The sorting over, the start of term feast began with a speech from Dumbledore.

"Hey he's back," Sirius said. "Maybe we can ask him later." With that he dived into his plate & began eating wildly.

"You're an embarrassment to the dining world," James snarled in disgust.

After the feast, everyone sleepily made their way to the dorms, following behind their respective prefects with the new First Years bringing up the rear. Peter, Sirius & Remus were the first at the portrait & waited for James.

"What took you?"

"Ah nothing really, Siri," James shrugged. "Just heard a woman's voice calling to me but Lily insisted it wasn't her."

Sirius burst out laughing. "OK that is like the DUMBEST line you can give a woman."

"I wasn't giving her lines!" James defended. "All I said was, 'I thought I heard your voice. Were you calling to me?'" Sirius, Peter & Remus only laughed harder.

"No wonder she's not dating you," Sirius choked out between laughs.

"So what's your bright idea to see her?" James muttered as they entered the common room.

"Let's all go, if the rain's let up," Sirius headed upstairs to their dorm.

The rain had stopped so Sirius led them out onto the roof & over to the girls' windows. The four of them sat under the Invisibility Cloak with a warmth & drying charm over them & watched. Remus had a large bowl of popcorn he had brought up from the common room.

"Cool," James whispered. "Wow you can see what they're...uh...Siri? They're getting changed."

"I know!" Sirius snickered. "Isn't it great?" Remus & Peter tried not to laugh.

They watched the girls for a while. Lily actually went to the window & stared at the spot right where four hopeful teenage boys were sitting under an Invisibility Cloak, staring right back at her. Lily turned around & took her top off then her bra. James gasped.

"Got an ere-"

"_La ferme,_ Black!" James hissed. "Wish she'd just turn around."

"Nice back though," Remus mused. Lily did not turn around but instead proceeded to her bed where her nightgown was waiting.

"Pass the popcorn, Lupin!" James snapped. Alice Jay soon walked passed the window, pulling on a PJ top. There was a split-second view of her front before she passed out of sight. There were four rapid gasps from somewhere outside.

"Nice," Sirius wagged eyebrows, grabbing some more popcorn.

Lily soon appeared again, now dressed in a silk white nightgown that showed her developing shape nicely. James spilled some popcorn down his shirt.

"Ah nuts," James muttered. They watched the girls for another 15 minutes before the lights went off & then scrambled back into their own dorm.

"I'll be doing that again until I get to see Lily the way I want to see Lily." James promised himself aloud.

His friends could only laugh at him.

"Still not into girls, Remmy?"

"_La Ferme!_"

"Maybe he's Bi?" James asked.

"_La FERME!"_


	2. The Trouble With Teens

**(2) The Trouble With Teens **

After a two-month vacation of hot summer, it was rather hard getting up so early & going to classes; particularly since the warm weather lingered on. Starting with the potions class didn't help as the heat of boiling cauldrons made them drowsy. However, the Marauders never failed to make a nuisance of themselves.

They were learning a tanning potion first. The final ingredient to add was a crushed salamander. James took the opportunity to distract Severus Snape by yanking his hair.

"Potter!" The black-haired Slytherin boy turned round to glare. (Sirius tossed a handful of ground moonstone in Snape's cauldron.)

"Sorry," James smiled pleasantly. "Thought that was my quill."

Snape glared before turning back to his cauldron, which was now foaming over like an overflowing bath. His potion soon evaporated away. "Oh no... not again!"

"What happened?" asked Professor Snape, standing over him.

"They got born!" Snape waved his hand over James & Sirius.

"10 points from both of you Potter & Black!" Professor Snape didn't need to investigate further. He knew those two boys as well as two certain friends of theirs all to well. "Why do you insist on causing trouble when you know you could be punished?"

"It's worth it," Sirius answered.

"Detention for both of you every night this week!" Professor Snape ordered. "Is it still worth it?"

James & Sirius grumbled to themselves as they got up to leave with the rest of class. They had been planning on going swimming in the lake with Peter; Remus had declined saying he didn't like water, which was rather odd considering most canines lived for water. (Of course neither they nor Peter knew about Romulus or what happened to him.)

Nevertheless, Severus Snape was yet again their victim in the next class, Charms. They were doing a written pop quiz test on the use of common household charms. Remus made a point to sit near Snape & wrote a little note. He pushed the note slightly in Snape's direction. Snape glared, not trusting for a moment.

"It's about...Black," Remus whispered, looking dead serious. Snape leaned over to read.

_Gotcha!_

"PROFESSOR! SNAPE'S COPYING OFF ME!"

Professor Hannah Adelhide looked up just in time to see Snape quickly sit straight. "Mr. Snape! I thought you a more admirable (James & Sirius snickered at that.) student then that!" Adelhide tutted softly. "I must be speaking to your father. This should be nipped in the bud."

"But-!"

"Silence, Mr. Snape," Professor Adelhide ordered. "20 points from Slytherin." She turned to the blackboard, missing the motion Remus made of punching air & mouthing 'YES!' & the fact that James, Peter & Sirius were all mouthing 'Bloody brilliant!' to Remus & giving their blond-haired friend several quick thumb-ups. The note conveniently disappeared in a ball of flame.

Finally, the class they were waiting for arrived, Transfigurations with Professor Dumbledore. He was waiting for them behind his desk & was immediately swarmed with a tirade of questions. Obviously, the Marauders weren't the only ones demanding to know why Dumbledore had left them.

"Alright alright!" Dumbledore shushed them. "It was a special errand for the Ministry; something to do with a Mr. Abes. Oh & I have acquired a good friend on the way." Dumbledore lifted up what was quite possibly the most ugliest chick ever to disgrace the universe. "He's fresh from the ashes. I have named him Fawkes."

"Is that...a Phoenix?" Lily Evans moved closer to look. "He looks...I don't know...he looks..."

"He looks freaky, OK?" Alice said for her.

"Alice!" Lily shushed her.

"Just you wait a few days when he's grown," Dumbledore smiled. "He will look beautiful again once more. Trust me, I've seen him." Dumbledore put the chick in a giant ashtray where it went to sleep. "Now, all of you take your seats."

The students did so, though the same question was running through everyone's minds, Who was Mr. Abes? Four certain boys were determined to find out. For now, they settled themselves to learning how to change rocks into pillows.

Dumbledore didn't appear like he wanted to answer any more questions on the matter, so the Marauders left wondering what the old wizard did & who was Mr. Abes. James wondered how they'd ever find out, seeing as it was Ministry business & not their own, but curiosity never failed a teenager & he declared he would somehow.

Remus & Peter left with the crowd of Gryfindors heading for the dorms while James & Sirius headed back to the Potion classroom for their detention. Lucius & Regulus met them on the way.

"Mother's not going to be pleased with you," Regulus warned as they passed. Sirius just rolled his eyes & marched onward.

Lucius waited for James & Sirius to be out of earshot before saying, "You're brother's an idiot, isn't he?"

"Tell me about it," Regulus groaned. "I bet he helped Andromeda escape us."

"Most likely...do you feel...?" Lucius paused & looked around behind them.

"Like Potter & Sirius are following us, waiting to do something?" Regulus finished off. "Yeah me too. BUGGER OFF YOU TWO! Come on, Lucius. They can't follow us much further unless they...WANT TO BE LATE FOR DETENTION & GET MORE DETENTION!" he hollered down the hall. "Idiots!" Regulus grabbed Lucius's hand & pulled him into a slow run towards the Slytherin common room.

James & Sirius didn't finish detention until midnight; they had to write lines of 'I will not make a nuisance of myself.' over & over until Professor Snape decided to let them go. "Until tomorrow evening!" He reminded them on their way out.

"So much for having fun on the last days of hot weather," Sirius grumbled.

"Guess Lily's gone to bed," James muttered. "Moonstones." The portrait opened to let them through.

"Aw darn, we missed the girls?" Sirius whined. "Oh well..."

"Say, when are you going to ask that Ravenclaw blondie out?" James asked.

Sirius just shrugged, "Maybe when we go to Hogsmeade."

"Yeah good idea," James agreed. "I'm going to try Lily again. Maybe she'll go out with me just once..."

"Don't bet on it," Sirius muttered.

"Bet you 10 galleons I'll marry her."

"Bet you 100 that you won't."

"100?" James thought for a moment. "Deal!"

"OK," Sirius shook hands with his friend. "Make me a rich man, m'man!"

"You already are."

"Well...every little bit helps."

James rolled his eyes. "No wonder we common folk," He did a curtsey before going on. "think you rich people are snobs." Sirius looked wounded but James only laughed.

"Fine be a jerk!" Sirius muttered, then he started laughing to. "Goodnight."

None of the Marauders got to do any girl watching for a week. James & Sirius were stuck in detention, Peter plodded on alone at night sitting on his bed with the curtains drawn to hide the book on Animagic, Remus as usual, fretted to much over homework & young beautiful half (or fully) naked girls at evening were furthest from his mind...with the same type of men being even further!

The last day of detention, James & Sirius made it back to the common room by midnight. Remus & Peter were still downstairs; Peter's head had connected with the page of his Astrology book as he slept on it.

"Finally!" James complained. "If I never have to write lines for Professor Snivelus again," He ignored a glare from Remus. "it'll be too soon!"

"Want to see if any girls are awake?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"No!" James muttered. "How can you think like that? Ever since we first went to see them, you've been acting weird."

"They're just girls, Jim."

"You smell different," Remus muttered before he could stop himself. _Damn wolf! What's the matter with you?_

"Excuse me?" Sirius half-laughed.

"I...uh...mean," Remus stammered. "Well, are you using cologne or something?"

"Uh...let me think. NO!" Sirius stared at Remus.

"You sure?" Remus went on. "Hmm, maybe it was from someone else."

"Maybe," Sirius glanced at James in confusion but he could only shrug. "Well, I'm off to bed...er...do I smell...nice?"

"Oh...yeah," Remus gulped. "I didn't mean it like that...I-I...look forget it OK?"

"OK," Sirius laughed nervously for a moment & disappeared upstairs. James nudged Peter & the two of them disappeared as well, leaving a very frustrated & embarrassed Remus to sort out his wolfish sense of smell.

James pulled out his book on werewolves & flipped through it. "Wonder why he said that?"

"No idea," Sirius shrugged. "Unless it was what he considered a polite way to say I need a shower. But I just had a shower a few hours ago."

"Maybe his K9 senses are sensitive to your soap," James sighed.

"I've been using the same thing since the day we met that guy," Sirius muttered. "He's never said anything like that before." Sirius stood in front of the mirror, brushing back his hair that was almost reaching to his shoulders. "Hey I think I'm getting my beard!"

"Dream on!" Peter laughed.

"No no, seriously...er...hehe," Sirius laughed at his own pun. "See? Right there!"

James & Peter looked hard over Sirius's face but there was nothing there at all. Or was there? "Wait a minute, I think I see something!" James put two fingers on Sirius's face, grabbed a random hair & pulled.

"OW!"

"Well there's your beard," James laughed. "Guess you'll never need to shave."

"That was mean, James!" Sirius grumbled.

"Look any shadow you saw was probably caused by your hair," James pointed out. "You need a hair cut."

"No, I like it long," Sirius said. "I want it to my shoulders at least."

"Whatever," James muttered. "Hey, that's it...what Remus smelled."

"What now?"

"Well, think of it," James sat on his bed & watched Sirius. "We are 14 now, should be starting puberty, Remus could probably pick that up."

"Don't be ridiculous," Sirius laughed. "Doesn't that stuff happen when you're 15 or 16?"

"It's different for everyone," James shrugged. "Maybe that's why your thinking of girls a lot more often."

"So that's why you think of Lily all the time," Sirius snapped. "You went through your puberty at 11."

"Fine, don't believe a werewolf might be able to sense changes in you," James snapped back. Sirius stuck his tongue out. "OH!" James groaned & pulled the curtains around his bed.

Sirius settled into bed muttering, "Knew that would shut him up!" He started to fall asleep when James's curtains ripped right open again.

"Forgot to get changed," James muttered, pulling Pj's out of his trunk & storming off.

"Where are you going?" asked Sirius.

"To get changed!" James repeated.

"Don't you usually just change here?"

"No!"

"James," Sirius laughed. "How many times have we got changed together? What's the matter with you?"

"I'm going to the bathroom to get changed," James snapped. "Just in case your pubescent self goes gay on me!"

"Now who's the one going through puberty?" Sirius glared at the door as it slammed shut.

Remus was lying on his stomach across the sofa glaring in the direction of the portrait hole. He raised his head as he heard someone stomping down the stairs. James burst through the door of the stairs, turned the corner & marched into the boys' bathroom on the left, slamming the door. Remus growled to himself...his pack was in disarray & he had no idea how to set them straight again.

James undressed & glared at himself in the mirror. "Stupid Sirius...crazy..." As he surveyed himself, his thoughts turned to how he looked now...& Lily. _Hmm...Lily would like that...nah she wouldn't like how this looks...better fix that...wish my hair would stay put...What was I thinking?_ James pushed such thoughts aside, got dressed & stormed back out & upstairs again, completely missing Remus on the sofa, who whined away a yawn like a puppy & got up to follow.

James & Sirius had forgotten the incident by morning & all four of them were at breakfast together. James & Sirius were discussing how to prank Severus again when Remus interrupted.

"Haven't you had enough detention for a while?"

"Aw Rem!" Sirius whined. "Who cares about that?" He then turned back to James & went on talking about 'Snivelus.'

So it was for the next few days, Severus being a victim almost every time he turned around. One time, James tripped him in the hall & his books went flying, another time Sirius would use the Reducto charm to blast his bag apart, Peter stole his DADA book that time & Severus had yet to get it back, Even Remus dared a time to slip something into Severus's drink that made him hiccup for the rest of the day.

But the change from lazing around all day in summer to scheduled classes soon took it's toll. The Marauders would drag themselves into one class or another & pretend to listen to the constant droning of the Professors (except Remus of course who always had a spare scrapbook to take notes) They weren't the only ones who looked dazed. Others to would often daydream.

The monotone of classes was broken one day by a peculiar event in the Charms classroom. They were learning the Accio charm, which was to summon an object to one's hand, using pillows for now until they got the hang of it. Remus got it on first try, knowing this spell all to well, his mother STILL used it on him, & was soon Accio-ing anything to his hand (including the Professor's little bar of chocolate!).

The chants of "Accio pillow!" were soon interrupted by a squeal from a Ravenclaw girl.

"I said stop it!"

"Miss Langley," Professor Adelhide hurried to her. "What's the problem?"

Miss Langley tossed her dark hair sideways & glanced around, "She's back!"

"Who?"

"M-M-Mrs.-Mrs. Harriett," Miss Langley stammered. "I don't understand...she used to be so nice but now..." She put her hands together & whimpered.

"Miss Langley," Professor Adelhide shook the girl back to reality. "Jolene! There's no Harriett in this class."

"She's not of the class," Jolene said quickly. She was shaking by herself now. "She-she's actually...!" Jolene suddenly went limp & collapsed to the floor.


	3. Unpleasant Discussions

**(3) Unpleasant Discussions **

Miss Langley was quickly rushed to the hospital wing & was now lying unconscious in her bed. Professor Adelhide & the class stayed in the Hospital wing for a while, as Dr. Cross & Madam Pomfrey checked the girl over.

"What happened?" Dr. Cross finally asked.

"Nothing I can understand," Professor Adelhide began. "We were just practising _Accio_ when she started talking about someone named Mrs. Harriet. Next thing we know, she's passed out."

"Well, she seems fine," Pomfrey started. "Other then the fact I can't wake her up. Any ideas on who Mrs. Harriett is?"

"None," said Professor Adelhide. A few of Miss Langley's Housemates also shook their heads.

"Well, I'll just have to put _Temporis Subsisto_ on her for now," Pomfrey sighed.

"You're going to put her on life-support?" asked Professor Adelhide.

"Well nothing can be done for her until we even find a way to wake her up," Pomfrey explained as she hurried to pass the charm over the girl as Miss Langley slept on for days.

"I wonder what that was all about?" James asked Sirius on their way to their next class.

"No idea," Sirius shrugged. "Maybe she just had a bad nightmare & couldn't get away from it."

"Mrs. Harriett could still be in the castle," Peter said.

"Not if she's just something Jolene imagined," James pointed out.

"Well what if she's not something she imagined?" said Remus. "Mrs. Harriett could probably be hiding in the castle waiting to attack Jolene."

"Maybe," James shrugged. "But who'd want to do that?"

As none of them could quite answer logically, the subject was soon dropped; though, not forgotten as other students soon had their own ideas of may have happened, ranging from the simplest...'She's just trying to skip a few classes is all.' to more ridiculous assumptions such as 'Mrs. Harriett is probably a hag trying to eat children' Remus shot down the latter theory in a hurry saying Jolene Langley didn't look at all eaten to him.

A week had gone by & still Miss Langley didn't week up. The Marauders soon found themselves in Divination studying palmistry. They began by practising on a diagram in a book & trying to label each of the lines for Professor Clarkson told them they would have to read a real palm at the end of term.

"I'm never going to get this," James muttered one night in the common room. "Why is that health line so long anyway?"

Remus leaned over to stare at James's diagram. "That's the life line Jim...& that's the heart line not the passion line...& that would be your health line. _Tu ne l'as même pas identifié!"_ ("You didn't even label it!")

James groaned & pushed his parchment over to Remus with pleading eyes. "Do it for me?"

"How are you going to read...Lily's hand...at the end of term?" Remus teased.

"Like she'll let me anyway," James muttered, not falling for it.

_"Je suis content de voir que tu l'aies réalisé!"_ ("Well, I'm glad you realised it!") Remus said.

"Don't I deserve a reward?" James pushed his homework farther into Remus's hands.

_"D'accord! D'accord!"_ ("Alright! Alright!") Remus muttered, waving his wand over James's wrong labels to delete them. _"Mais juste cette fois ci!" _("But just this once!")

"Thanks Remy!" James said before looking at him quizzically "...er, I think." He then settled back in his chair. "Now I can get on with other things…Quidditch perhaps!" Remus grumbled to himself but went on labeling the diagram.

Quidditch practice for Gryfindor started the next afternoon for the first game. James was the Seeker for his team & disappeared into the air after the Snitch while the others practiced the Chaser, Keeper & Beater abilities. Needless to say, they were rusty after having summer off. The Beaters, Arthur Weasley & Gideon Prewett knocked two of the Chasers down in the first five minutes. Reginald Mantle & Sirius Black ended up in the hospital with broken ribs & several bruises. It wasn't until two or three more practices that everyone soon remembered what he or she was doing.

Captain Cooper trained them harder then ever, demanding everyone to be in uniform, on time, practising hard for the first game of the season. Sirius & Reginald recovered overnight, literally thanks to Pomfrey's care & were back in the air the next day. Everything was just starting to go smoothly when Captain Cooper came bursting onto the Pitch in a huff.

"Where is Anna Leanne?" the Captain demanded. "We're supposed to be in the air five minutes ago."

"I don't know," James shrugged, tossing the Snitch up & down in his hand.

"Well, she'd better be in that locker room when I go back to check!" Captain Cooper disappeared off the Pitch again, leaving the team to snicker behind her back.

"Leanne?" Cooper wrenched the door open to the girls' side & stepped in. "Are you in here?"

"Yes Captain," Anna said though Cooper couldn't see her. "don't come any closer.

"Get on the Pitch now!" Cooper began searching through the closets & soon located her missing Chaser in a corner behind the last one. She was curled up in a ball & crying. "What's wrong with you?" Cooper tried not to sound to demanding.

"Can't you see?" Anna half-snapped, waving her hand over the whole room.

"See what?"

"There...on the walls," Anna pointed out. "& those three...dead over there."

"Miss Leanne...I don't know what you're talking about." Cooper muttered, slightly frustrated.

"The walls...there's lots of blood on them," Anna managed to choke out between sobs. "Can't you see it?"

"Miss Leanne, there is nothing here," Cooper sighed.

"Oh but there is," Anna insisted. "& I've seen it before. Why can't you see it?"

Captain Cooper finally realised the girl was telling the truth & yet she herself didn't see anything. _Could she be seeing another plane of existence?_ Cooper thought herself as she pulled Anna Leanne up. "Let's get you to the hospital wing & get a potion for hallucinations. I'll send the others to the castle for now. We can try again tomorrow."

"It won't work," Anna said. "I know it won't."

"Let's just try it," Cooper said as she helped the girl up & led her out of the Quidditch locker room. The others of the Team had come off the Pitch by this time & crowed around, wondering what was going on.

"Right," Captain Cooper snapped at them. "This is only a practise. We can make do without one Chaser for now. Get in the air! I'll be back shortly." Startled, everyone slowly filed back onto the Pitch & was soon in the air. James flew off for the Snitch while the others began a game of catch with the Quaffle as each took the Keeper position in turn.

What had happened to one of Gryfindor's Chasers soon back the newest gossip of the castle, ranging from the simplest explanations like perhaps faking it to get out of practise to the most outrageous that she was probably on some sort of hallucinogenic drug. James, Sirius, Peter & Remus were still discussing what may have happened a few days later.

"I still say she was faking it," James said for the millionth time. "I know I'd like to skip practise now & then. Some times I think we do it to much."

"If you do it to much then," Remus began. "How come Gryfindor wins most of its games? _La pratique amène la perfection!"_ ("Practise makes perfect!")

"Don't you have some poor defenseless homework to get rid of?" James snapped. Remus glowered for a moment before turning a page of his Standard Book Of Spells Grade 4. _"La pratique amène la perfection!"_ ("Practise makes perfect!") James muttered under breath. "I am a perfect Seeker. No one can beat my dives. I'm perfect enough."

"_Pas assez pour Mademoiselle Evans,"_ ("Not enough for Miss Evans,") Remus made sure his face was well hidden behind his book; though, he could still feel the raging glare shot at him.

"She's just scared," James defended. "It can be scary for a girl to get into a relationship with a boy. I'm just giving her a little time."

"_Bien du temps pour qu'elle puisse se trouver un MEILLEUR copain,"_ ("Plenty of time for her to find another BETTER boyfriend,") Remus continued in French as he tried desperately to stop snickering.

But James understood anyway. "RIGHT YOU!" James jumped up & knocked the book from Remus's hands. _"Est-ce que tu peux arrêter? Qu'est-ce qui te prend?"_ ("Will you stop it? What's up with you?")

"I'm out of chocolate," Remus excused himself. "So I say stupid things when I'm depleted in my intake of chocolate.

"I'll get you some more chocolate!" James fumed & stomped off to get his cloak. "If only to shut you up!" He shot one last glare at Remus (who was currently rolling around on the floor with his hands over his mouth to stop laughing) & then slipped under his cloak & left the Tower. "I'll show him. I'm going to marry Lily & he'll be sorry he ever said anything!"

James stalked off all the way done the long-winding moving staircases & towards the kitchen. He entered by the hidden door that was in the shape of a fruit basket with a pear as the doorknob. He slipped inside past unsuspecting house-elves who were hurrying around putting dishes away. James moved towards the cupboards to look for chocolate & was about to take his cloak off when he heard voices across the room. Headmaster Dippet, Dumbledore & an older woman James had never seen before were gathered around a coffee table sipping tea & talking over a plate of sandwiches. James moved closer to listen.

"I don't know what we're going to do," the woman was saying. "Abes was one of our best Aurors." She started crying softly into her handkerchief.

"Now now Minerva," Headmaster Dippet soothed. "It'll be alright. I'm not saying we can replace Abes but the Order will go on."

"Armando," Dumbledore began. "yes the Order will go on. But so will this war, at least for a while longer. We can't protect the younger students from the truth for long of just how bad Lord Voldemort is. It's coming closer & closer to Hogwarts. I'm even beginning to wonder how much longer we'll have Hogsmeade with us.

"What are you suggesting Albus?" Minerva asked.

"I'm thinking," Dumbledore paused for a moment. "Well, we should open up the career opportunity of becoming an Auror...to our 5th years."

"WHAT?'!" Dippet & Minerva yelped at the same time.

"Well think," Dumbledore explained. "It's a 3 year course. So, by the time they start in 5th year, they'll be ready to be initiated into the Order by the time they're out of school. We won't force them to join, of course. It'll just be adding on to the list of career choices the Fifth Years have to look through."

"Oh you can't be serious!" Minerva moaned.

"With Abes gone, the Order is growing considerably weaker," Dumbledore said. "He was one of our best, even more so then me. I am but one Auror as are each of you. We shouldn't take chances but make this career open for all."

"I don't think we have much choice," Dippet gave in. "But we should prepare them for what it is like to be an Auror before they decide."

"Perhaps we can introduce an explanatory course to the Fourth Years," Dumbledore suggested. "That way, they'll know what they're getting into if they decide to choose that path in their next year."

"I'll get started on it right away," Dippet stood up to leave. "I just wanted to keep this war away from the children for as long as possible."

"Children can understand things better then most adults at times," Dumbledore said. "They have such open minds. With the guidance at Hogwarts, they should be able to handle anything."

"Very well," Dippet turned to leave. James stepped away trying to get out without getting caught. He bumped into something that made a screeching sound & something red flashed past him.

"Oh, Fawkes!" Minerva cried. "How'd he get in here?" James grabbed a bag of chocolate mints off the nearest counter & scurried away as Dippet, Dumbledore & Minerva flustered about to catch the Phoenix.

"Someone must have accidentally let him in," Dumbledore mused. Glancing back, James could have sworn he locked eyes with Dumbledore, but then he remembered he was under his cloak. Dumbledore could not have seen him...right? James hurried onward & found that he had left the fruit basket door open. He shut it quietly behind him & hurried to the common room.

James yanked off the cloak & tossed the bag of treats into Remus's lap. He was about to say something when he overheard Sirius talking with Anna Leanne & Reginald Mantle. Sirius & Reginald were explaining to her how the practise had gone & asked what had happened.

Anna glanced down into her lap watching her fingers twist around her hair ribbon. "I...just saw something I shouldn't have."

"Oh," Sirius said with a sly grin. "Was someone doing something in that locker room?"

Confused, Anna looked up at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, was there a couple in there doing...you know?"

"Do you honestly think I'd be this upset if it was just something like that?" Anna snapped at him. Sirius gulped & stared at the floor. "I've seen that before. This was something different."

"Like what?" asked Reginald.

"I...I saw...my family," Anna murmured. "My parents & little sister."

"Not from a good family then are you?" Sirius sympathized. "I hate my family too."

"I don't!" Anna snapped. "But I don't understand why I saw them. They're dead…a few years ago. Voldemort murdered them. Why would he suddenly bring their bodies into our Quidditch Locker room?"

"The Captain didn't see anything," Reginald said. "Only you. Maybe it was put into your mind. Who knows what Voldemort can do?"

"Maybe," Anna sighed. "I don't know. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm going to bed." Anna got up & hurried away as Sirius moved back to the sofa to sit beside Remus.

"Wow, that was a weird conversation," James said as he sat down in the chair beside them.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "This Voldemort is starting to be a pain now. Wonder why they hadn't caught him yet?"

"I heard something in the kitchen," James said. "Hey let's go on the roof & I'll tell you while I watch Lily."

"_Écoute-toi donc parler,"_ ("Listen to yourself,") Remus muttered to himself. _"C'est évident pourquoi elle me t'aime pas!"_ ("No wonder she doesn't like you!")

James looked thoughtful for a moment before glaring at Remus, saying nothing as he hurried up the stairs. Sirius, Peter & Remus glanced at each other & grinned before hurrying up after James. They soon were on the roof, under the cloak, watching girls getting changed. James explained to them in hushed whispers about what he had heard in the kitchen, while keeping an eye out for Lily.

"Is it really that bad?" Sirius muttered when he was finished.

"Muggleborns aren't going to stand a chance if it's an all-out war," Peter said. "I've heard of him going to any lengths to get rid of what's called 'impure blood.'"

"I know all about that," Sirius muttered. "My family can't stand anyone but pure-blooded wizardry. Wonder what exactly is an Auror anyway?"

"_Je l'ignore,"_ ("I don't know,") Remus said with a shrug everyone noticed. "FINALLY!" Sirius, Peter & James snapped at the same time, glad that their little Mr. Know-It-All werecub was, for once, as clueless as they were. Remus grumbled to himself & stared intently at a fully dressed girl in her PJ's, wishing he had brought a book to read.

"Hey Remy dear, how would the French say 'You're supposed to watch the undressing ones'?" Sirius whispered oh so close in his ear, before yelping as Remus punched him on the shoulder.


	4. The Hidden Power

**(4) The Hidden Power**

The next few days passed without incident. Classes were soon returning to normal & the students were one day able to see Fawkes fully grown on his perch. He was greeted by many "Ooh's" & "Aah's" by several of the girls. Fawkes glared quietly while shifting from one talon to the next, not too sure if he liked the new attention or not. Dumbledore soon ushered everyone to their seats as the fiery bird started preening sparks off his feathers.

A new event soon arose that quickly became the topic of the castle. The Slytherin Quidditch practices had begun again & most of them were boasting that they'd win for sure this time. This of course, put the Gryfindors on edge & minor squabblings breaking out in the corridors between the two Houses quickly escalated. The Slytherin Team would often have to dodge tauntings & jeers by certain Gryfindors but there were rare occasions when they were able to get onto the Pitch without much incident.

It was on one such day when Severus was able to escape the torment of James & Sirius & could practise with the Snitch. He caught it twice within two minutes but the Captain wanted the Snitch faster. Severus sighed & flew up one more time muttering, "How fast does he want it to be?"

"How fast can Potter dive?" Lucius deadpanned. "You'll have to beat that."

"I know, I know," Severus grumbled, flicking black hair out of his eyes. He tapped his head with his wand to make his hair stay back for a while so he could see. A glint of gold soon caught his eye & Severus raced off after it.

He closed in on the Snitch within a minute & reached out to grab it. What happened next, happened in a fast blur. It was as if touching the Snitch was like grabbing hold of an electric fence. Severus yelped & fell from his broom.

"REGGIE! HELP ME!" Lucius yelled as he dived for Severus, though he wasn't sure he could reach his friend in time.

Regulus was lower & raced for Severus, hoping to catch up with him before the ground did. He reached Severus moments before Lucius did & both flipped upside-down to stop their Seeker's decent, grabbing him by the arms. The ground was only a few feet below. Still hanging upside-down, Regulus & Lucius floated downward until they could drop Severus safely.

"What happened to you?" Regulus asked, getting off his broom. Lucius landed at his side.

Offering no explanation, Severus only pulled himself up & hurried as fast as possible back to the castle. Regulus & Lucius glanced at each other before following with the rest of Slytherin Team in tow.

"Severus!" Lucius yelled as they fled across the ground. Severus was farther ahead & either didn't hear or didn't want to hear. "Severus, will you wait up please?" Lucius had slightly longer legs then Severus & slowly caught up. "What are you doing?" he demanded but Severus didn't answer, only continued wildly running onward. The others had no choice but to follow.

"No no, Siri!" James groaned. "This is wandless magic we're trying to do. That means no talking either. You have to do it in your mind & let your hand take over."

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius asked with a sly grin.

"I mean that...YOU KNOW BLOODY WELL WHAT I MEAN!" A mild explosion interrupted them. James & Sirius turned to see Peter with soot all over his face.

"Well, at least I did something," Peter shrugged, holding up his smoldering cushion.

James rolled his eyes & turned back to a laughing Sirius. "Let me try this." Sirius tried to pout but was still laughing as James concentrated hard.

With Remus out of the way at the library, James, Sirius & Peter had gone to the Room Of Requirement to continue with their Animagical training. They were attempting to practise _Wingardium Leviosa_ without the use of wands & incantations. Levitation was supposed to be one of the more simple spells yet none of them was able to do it yet.

"I'm waiting," Sirius muttered, watching the piles of cushions. James opened his eyes to glare & felt a wave of magic through him. Sirius was thrown across the room & broke out with boils.

"SIRIUS!" James fled to his side. "Oh what did I do?"

"Well," Sirius huffed. "I can tell you what you didn't do!" He pointed to the unmoving pile of cushions.

"Maybe we should get him to the hospital wing?" Peter suggested.

"But what if they find out what we're doing?" Sirius worried.

"You & James hex each other all the time," Peter pointed out. "Though I'll admit, not this badly but anyway."

"I guess so," Sirius shrugged & then wished he hadn't as it caused a few soars to sting.

"Come on," James pulled Sirius up. Peter went to Sirius's other side & the three of them worked their way down to the hospital.

"MOVE!"

James, Sirius & Peter looked up to see the whole of Slytherin Team, led by Severus Snape, closing in on them. They had only just managed to flatten themselves against the wall before everyone raced past.

"Since when do you do what Snivellus tells you?" Sirius teased as they started again. James pinched him on one of his newly acquired boils "OW!"

"Only to spare myself from getting trampled to death," James muttered. "We'll make up for it later." They pressed forward in silence for a while, Sirius glowering & grumbling to himself. "Oh & by the way," James went on. "You're quite the baby you know." Sirius poked his tongue out in reply, but only succeeded in proving James's comment.

"Wonder what they're all running for?" Peter asked.

James just shrugged. "Who cares? They're probably scared of something or other. Cowards. Bravery is a Gryfindor trait."

"He must of fallen down, Derek," Professor Adelhide was saying.

"I wonder if this is yet another case like the other one," said Professor Snape before a thunderous roar could be heard. "What is that sound?"

Everyone turned to see the Slytherin Team appear around the corner. Severus pushed through to the stairs leading up to the Towers & saw a Hufflepuff 2nd year boy, lying unconscious & looking as though he had fallen the last few steps.

"I knew someone was in trouble," Severus said aloud, almost automatically.

"Ed, take this boy to the hospital wing," Professor Snape said to the Dark Arts Professor.

"Father, what actually happened?" Severus demanded. He still seemed to be in somewhat of a daze.

"Professor Clarkson was just walking the boy back from detention in Divination," Snape explained. "He said they left early because Justin Jones wasn't feeling well. The boy just fell down the last few steps for no apparent reason." Professor Snape sighed & continued. "I know for a fact that you were on the Pitch for practise. So how did you know this occurred?"

Severus shrugged. "I don't know...just sort of...felt it I guess."

The elder Snape raised an eyebrow before pulling his son aside. He placed his fingertips on either side of Severus's head.

_Sev, can you hear me?_

"Loud & clear but why aren't you talking?" Severus asked.

_No no. Speak with your mind._

Severus tried not to roll his eyes as he thought, _& just HOW am I supposed to do that?_ "What do you-?"

_Just what you did, Severus. Legilimus Finite._

Severus watched his father, wondering what was happening. Professor Snape finally decided to speak after a long silence thinking. "Sev, I do believe you're telepathic."

"I'm tele-w-what?" Severus stammered, thoroughly confused.

"Telepathic. The ability to hear with the mind," Snape explained. "It's genetic from the male side of the Snape family; though, it's starting to skip generations. My father didn't have it but my grandfather did, as do I. Now you seem to have it."

"What about Mother?"

"No she's not on the right side of the family & she's a...well...she," Snape muttered for lack of a better term. "It's only the men who get it, well so far anyway."

"Oh," Severus sighed. "What do I...uh...do? With this telepathy?"

"It's an ancient _powerful_ magic," Professor Snape started. "It can heal or ruin one's mind. We'll start Occlumency. It's about the Legilimens spell to turn on or shut off your mind at will. That'll teach you how to control it. It'll do you or anyone else no good to let it run wild all the time. We'll start every Friday night."

Severus just nodded, trying to think over what was being said to him while wondering, _What's so bad about having it on all the time?_

"You'll end up hearing everything all the time & never have any peace & quiet," Snape pointed out. Severus stared at his father who only tapped his forehead. "I turned it on for a moment & now off again. You'll learn to do that to soon enough. I should get going for now. It looks like we may have an epidemic on our hands."

Severus nodded & watched his father hurry down the hall. Glancing around, he noticed he was alone. The others had most likely been shooed away a long time ago. Slightly overwhelmed at this newfound power, Severus made his way to the Slytherin common room, hoping Lucius & Regulus were there. They were & pounced the moment he entered.

"Severus!" Lucius pulled him into the chair beside him & smoothed back his long blonde ponytail. "What the hell happened?"

"I agree," Regulus sat on the other side. "You lose the Snitch, nearly get killed & then run away without so much as a thank you or anything!"

"I...did?" Severus asked, surprised. "I don't remember much other then feeling pain as if something hit me. But I think...I think it wasn't my pain I felt."

"What?'!" Regulus & Lucius were clearly confused.

"That Hufflepuff boy," Severus tried explaining. "The pain I felt. It was him. His pain when he fell down the stairs."

"How?" Lucius asked.

"Father says I'm telepathic," Severus said. "He wants to teach me Occlumency so I don't have to feel everyone all the time. Apparently, it's a genetic magic but he said it's starting to skip generations."

"& he thinks you have it?" Regulus pressed.

"Yeah," Severus sighed before going on. "He also thinks the castle might be infected with something. Said this collapsing thing might be an epidemic."

"Never you mind about the taste, Mr. Black; just swallow it!" Madam Pomfrey ordered. "Playing around with your wands is dangerous. Why you boys insist on playing rough, I'll never know." She hurried off to the cabinet to rummage for another potion.

Sirius grimaced before attempting to down whatever she had given him. "She's not a very good cook, I can tell you that right now!" James only laughed. "_La ferme!_ This is your fault remember?"

"Dr. Cross, here's another one." The door opened to let in Professor Johnson carrying Justin Jones, a 2nd year Hufflepuff boy. Several other Professors entered behind him, with Snape appearing moments later. Johnson laid the boy next to Jolene Langley & turned to Dr. Cross & Madam Pomfrey. "He just collapsed."

"Not another one!" Madam Pomfrey hurried to put the _Temporis Subsisto_ over the boy. "Just like Miss Langley. Asleep & unable to wake up."

"Perhaps it is some sort of epidemic going around," Snape suggested.

"Like what, Jherek?" asked Dr. Cross.

"The symptoms are similar to those who have been given the Draught Of The Living Death," Snape said. "It is an attack to induce a dead sleep. I am sorry to say that as of yet there is no counter-potion to bring them back."

"Oh Jherek, you can't be serious!" Madam Pomfrey moaned.

"It's all I can think of at the moment," Snape said.

"Whatever it is," Dumbledore began. "It's not a common illness. I do agree with Jherek. It must be some sort of attack."

"Albus, do you think..." Dr. Cross hesitated. "Perhaps...Voldemort?"

Dumbledore didn't answer, not directly at least. "I have with me, Minerva McGonagall. She is one of the Aurors from the Order." Dumbledore let the Egyptian Mau drop & the cat soon turned into a middle aged stern faced woman.

"The Order are finding more & more witches & wizards have gone to the Dark Side," Minerva began. "One of our so-called best has recently betrayed us. We were left no choice but to kill him."

"We believe a war is at hand," Dumbledore added. "Hogwarts is in a good location, near the Scotland/England border. Not to mention, the all-magic village of Hogsmeade is just a walk away."

"There must be a way to stop this," Dr. Cross said.

"We need more Aurors," Minerva sighed.

"Which is why we need to talk about opening up that career choice to the 5th Years," Dumbledore added.

James, Peter & Sirius looked at each other before quietly slipping away. "Let's get Moony." James marched for the library. The three of them literally dragged Remus away & towards the Gryfindor tower, talking all at once.

"Guys. HEY!" Remus finally yelped. "OK, one at a time. Please!"

James started. "OK, so there was this Puff boy that was brought in. He looks to be in the same way as Langley."

"Then Dumbledore drops this cat," Sirius continued. "It turns into this lady. She's an Animage!" James silenced him with a warning glare. "Anyway," Sirius ignored him. "What I mean is-Lily? What's happened?"

Lily was on the floor with Alice's head in her lap who appeared to be passed out. "Alice was just talking about some Uncle of hers. Jordans or whatever," Lily stood up, leaving her friend lying on the floor. "Saying stuff about how he was real nice all of a sudden. Then she just...fainted."

"We'll need to get her to the hospital," James said.

"I'll take care of that," Dumbledore entered the room. He picked Alice Jay off the floor. "The rest of you off to bed now. She'll be taken care of."

Once Dumbledore left, the Marauders clustered around Lily. "Spooky sometimes," Remus muttered. "How he seems to know stuff."

"Yeah, yeah," Lily sighed distractedly. "What's happening? What's wrong with everyone?"

"I don't know, Lily," James said, trying to get closer to her. "You look like a lot of stuff is bothering you."

"First Jolene, then some kid in Hufflepuff," Lily sighed. "Now Alice...who's next?" Lily stared into the fire. She looked worried she might be next.

"Just talk to me," James offered. "I can help."

"Oh & how can you help?" Lily snapped. "You know what's going on? Tell me, huh? No? You don't know either, just like the rest of us. One of us could be next. You! Me!" She angrily shot before glaring at James who stared back in shock, both for being yelled at and that Lily had said all that in a single breath to him. Lily shook her head & ran up the stairs.

"Well," Sirius stared. "I do believe you earned a medal. That was the most that girl has ever & will ever say to you in one breath."

James glared at him as he pulled off his glasses & laid them on the table between his seat & Remus's chair. "She knows something she's not saying," he said. "It seems whoever collapses has visions of someone they knew first. Wonder if Lily's going through that? I hope not."

"I don't know," Sirius shrugged, watching Remus quietly take the glasses & nip one end before heading to bed. "But if this is some sort of attack, surely it can be stopped if we find out who's doing it."

A few minutes passed before James asked, "OY! Who nicked my glasses?" causing Sirius to burst out laughing.


	5. Mind Tricks

**(5) Mind Tricks**

Remus was rudely awakened the next morning by a large pillow thrown through his curtains & landing on his head. He growled quietly, forcing himself up as he heard James demanding for his glasses. Remus pulled his curtains open a bit & saw Sirius doing the same thing.

Peter yawned & stretched. "I dunno." He rubbed his eyes before turning over & going back to sleep.

"They're not in the common room, they're not on my headboard, they're not in my trunk," James heaved a sigh. "Couldn't of just got up & walked away could they?" He continued glaring at his friends for not taking this matter seriously.

"They might of," Sirius teased. James threw another pillow at him. Sirius ducked & the pillow continued on its way. Remus's vision was suddenly blocked & he fell back on his bed with a yelp.

Remus chucked the pillow to the floor, not in the least bit bothered by James missing glasses. Couldn't be bothered that is, until he remembered the previous evening. He hurriedly closed his curtains & lifted up his own pillow._"D'accord loup! Qu'est-ce que tu m'as fait faire la nuit passée?"_ ("Alright wolf! What did you make me do last night?")

_Hey c'est James qui a commencé! (Hey it was James who got me going on it!)_ the wolf defended.

"Oh uh..._juste juste."_ ("Right right.") Remus sighed distractedly as he pulled up the slightly bent Owl-time Lumos Lens glasses. _"Stupide loup._ ("Stupid wolf.") _Repario_!" He looked over to find James and Sirius arguing and quickly levitated the glasses back on the nightstand beside James's bed when they weren't looking. "They're on your stand, Jim." Remus said once he had put his wand away.

"What?" James said, whipping his head around towards his bed. "They weren't there before."

"You just didn't see them," Remus defended. "You need glasses to find your glasses." James glared at him before stalking off downstairs, grumbling to himself about runaway glasses. Sirius woke Peter & they hurried to get dressed before following James, Remus waiting to be alone before doing the same thing.

"Hurry UP, Lupin!" Sirius snapped the moment he had come off the last stair. "Breakfast started five minutes ago & I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Remus reminded him. "You eat worse than a wolf."

"Look here," Sirius went on. "If we're late for breakfast, we could end up being late for class & you & I _both_ know how you'd hate that."

"Fine," Remus gave up & hurried for the door.

Sirius muttered to Peter, "Knew that would get him moving."

They arrived when breakfast was half way through & all four scrambled for the last few minutes to down their food. It wasn't long before the rest of the Great Hall were already up & leaving for classes. The four of them just made it to the first class, Potions, being the last to enter. Professor Snape had his back to the class, writing on the board. Sirius, Peter, James & Remus sheepishly took the back seats & pretended they were there the whole time.

"Today we start the Memory Potion," Professor Snape turned back to the class. "It is for improved access to your own memories & helps sharpen your long term memory. The main ingredient for this is Jobberknoll feathers, which you'll find in each of your cauldrons. They are to be finely crushed & added in last." Professor Snape stepped aside to his desk & the board was visible to all. Besides the feathers, there was also crushed Rhinestones, two whole scarab beetles & a powdered unicorn horn that has been naturally shed.

"Naturally shed?" James whispered.

"Just like deer, Jim," Remus said absently-mindedly while scribbling away. "Every spring."

"Then if they fall off naturally," James went on. "Why do people want to kill them for the horns?"

Remus looked up from his work. "Because naturally shed horns have little value other than maybe this simple potion & a few others. The new horn still attached to the head is full of the unicorn blood. That's where the REAL power lies." A forced coughed interrupted them & both looked up to see Professor Snape staring disapprovingly at them. Remus returned to his notes. "Get back to work, Jim."

"Severus, remain after class," Professor Snape ordered as he retreated back to his desk. "The rest of you are dismissed. Professor Johnson is waiting for you."

"Whatever happened wasn't my fault," Severus said as he glared at four suspects on their way out.

"Nothing happened," Professor Snape assured him. "I've put this potion to the class for a reason. It'll be part of your Occlumency. You need to know which thoughts & feelings are yours & which are someone else's. This will help you with that."

"But I hardly feel anything from others."

"Not yet," Professor Snape said. "You're just starting to develop this power. Soon, you'll be able to enter another's mind on your own & hear everything from their point of view. Many with telepathy have become confused as to who they were apart from those they sense. I did not say this in class but...that's why this potion was invented finally. To help you access your own memories any time. It's the first step in Occlumency. The other effects come with it, an added bonus if you like."

James, Sirius, Peter & Remus made sure they weren't behind the others this time & slowly worked their way to the front. "Hey, I might be able to remember my revisions for tests better!" Peter suddenly said. "That potion might help."

"Doubt it," James disagreed. "I think it's more to help keep your long term memory intact. So unless you're like 'Loopy' over here, (Remus kept his amber vision on the floor.) I doubt you'd want to remember every single detail of your lessons."

"Lily might like that though," Remus said suddenly. "No wonder she doesn't have time for you. Always studying & stuff." He hurried ahead snickering as James glared.

Everyone soon stopped in front of the door to the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom to find it closed off with a warding line that had been placed before the entrance that no one could step over. Quiet chatter among the students soon broke out.

"See, told you we'd miss a class," Sirius teased, watching Remus's face cloud over with worry.

_"La ferme!"_ Remus snapped.

"What are you all waiting for?" asked Severus as he just appeared around the corner. He was answered be several glares from the Gryfindors. "I wasn't speaking to you."

"Good!" all the Gryfindors cheered at once.

"Alright, that's enough," Professor Johnson ordered. "Now, everyone will follow me to the spare classroom down the hall. About half an hour ago, someone said he saw a Lethifold here. Since no one knows if that's true or where it is, this will be blocked off for a while."

"What was he doing here during classes?" asked Sirius.

"He was apparently told by his Grandfather to come here," Johnson explained. "Which makes me doubt his story. What Grandfather would send a child to see a Lethifold? But considering what's been going on in this castle as of late, we're taking this very seriously." He opened the door & led everyone into another classroom. "We won't be continuing our Red Caps lesson today. Instead, turn to Chapter 34: Lethifolds. It's best you all know about it...just in case."

"You think a Lethifold is responsible for what's been going on?" asked Remus once everyone had opened their books.

"I don't believe so," said Professor Johnson. "A Lethifold attack doesn't have symptoms like this. In fact, it doesn't have any type of symptoms at all. Can anyone tell me why?"

James had a hand raised already. "Because they're like a black cloak & swallow you whole when you sleep. Most people mistake it for a simple cloak & don't realise what it is before it's to late."

"Excellent," said Johnson. "10 points to Gryfindor. Now, there is only one defense against it & the charm is very far advanced for you 4th Years. The theory of it is usually introduced in year 6 & then 7th Years get the practical lessons; though, I must say not even half the 7th Years ever get a properly conjured Patronus. Just for today we will study about the Patronus at least. Hopefully it will help you understand Lethifolds better...yes Mr. Lupin?"

"Are Lethifolds related to Dementors?"

"They are both Dark creatures if that's what you mean," said Johnson.

"I've read about the Patronus charm before. It's used to hold Dementors at bay," Remus went on. "So since it appears to do the same to Lethifolds, they must somehow have a closer connect then just simply being Dark creatures. The Patronus won't work on say...werewolves or vampires."

"No it won't," agreed Johnson. "There is a similarity between Dementors & Lethifolds. They both feed off your soul. Lethifolds, however, will go on to consume your whole body afterward, in much the same way as a common snake would eat a rodent by swallowing whole & slow digestion. Dementors on the other hand, let you live, if you can call it that. More like lying like a vegetable the rest of your miserable life so really, it's better to get attacked by Lethifolds then by Dementors."

"Do both make you feel cold?" Remus asked.

"No, there's no sign that a Lethifold is near," Johnson said. "Unfortunately. Simply put, don't trust completely black cloak-like objects. It's your only hope. That & a Patronus if you can conjure a proper one. Dementors create a frost wherever they go & a good swarm of them could even freeze a lake hard enough to skate on."

"Azkaban must be a cold place," Sirius muttered under breath.

"Yes it is," Johnson answered anyway. "But I highly doubt anyone in this room will even see that place."

For the next few days, the Lethifold was the main gossip of the castle. The original Defense classroom remained closed in the meantime. Lethifolds soon gave way to the next Quidditch game between Slytherin & Gryfindor. It was time see whether or not all that practising would pay off.

It was on a clear yet cool day, letting everyone know that winter was nearing. However, the cold snap seemed to liven both teams up with Slytherin currently in the lead by 20 points. But that didn't worry the Gryfindors too much for it was the Snitch that would win the game & everyone in the castle knew James Potter was the best Gryfindor Seeker yet. The game continued for a more minutes without any more points to Slytherin. All eyes were on the Seekers who finally started a steep & swift dived. The Snitch was sighted.

"Finally!" Sirius groaned, dropping the ball below him to Anna Leanne. "Sooner he gets that Snitch, the sooner I get food...ANNA JUST SCORE ALREADY!"

Anna threw the ball but she didn't aim for the hoops. Sirius could only watch helplessly as she fell forward on her broom & dropped off. Her only hope was Reginald who was almost as low as she was. Maybe he could catch Anna, but she seemed to be falling faster then Reginald could dive.

James & Severus were side by side matching each other's speed & movement, with James being able to keep up easily now that he had gotten a faster broom. Both were reaching out for the Snitch & it was only a matter of who could close their hand around it faster.

Severus was sure to get it. He could feel the little wings beating at his fingertips. Then, without warning he felt a fear that was not his own & Severus gasped & pulled his broom up to stop before he could think. Almost automatically, he looked down & watched Anna fall.

"James Potter catches the Snitch! Gryfindor wins!"

Severus blinked & glanced at the stands where the commentator for the game stood. He looked down again & watched James land & hold up the Snitch but oddly enough, losing the Snitch was the last thing on his mind. Severus thought back to what he had just felt. _That was Leanne I had felt. It had to be._

Sirius suddenly noticed Dumbledore stand up in the Professor's box, raising his wand. "_Arresto Momentum_!" sounded loud & clear over the Pitch, slowing Anna's fall to a near-stop & Reginald was finally able to catch her. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief & looked around for the Seekers.

James was already on the ground with the Snitch & Reginald Mantle was soon landed beside him, carrying Anna. Sirius dropped down to the ground himself. "We won again; Slytherin will like that."

"Yeah," James agreed. "What's wrong with Anna?"

Sirius just shrugged. "She seemed to have passed out or something." They watched Reginald carry her away to the castle. "Let's go with him & find out."

No one noticed Severus when he landed last & quietly left the Pitch. Once out of sight of the Quidditch teams, he dropped his broom & hurried to find his father.

"Felt something again?" Professor Snape asked before Severus could talk.

"Anna Leanne," was all he said. "It was like...I was her for a minute. I've got to block this soon."

"The Memory Potion will definitely help you," Professor Snape said. "It should be ready tonight once it has finished simmering."

"I hope so," Severus shrugged as they entered the castle. He noticed most of Gryfindor was entering the hospital wing after Anna Leanne. "Think whatever's happening here happened to her?"

"Positive," answered Professor Snape. "You hurry to the Great Hall. I must talk to Dr. Cross for a moment."

"Just like the others," said Madam Pomfrey. "I've tried so many spells & potions but they just won't wake up."

"How long do you think she'll be out?" asked Captain Cooper.

"Ohhh long enough for you to find yourself a new Chaser," Pomfrey flustered as she hurried off to her cupboard.

"Great!" Captain Cooper grumbled. "I hope we can find out what's going on soon."

"She said something before she fell," said Reginald. "Told someone named Clarrissa or whatever to go away. Didn't seem to like her at all. But there was no one else in the air except for those on the Teams."

"I haven't a clue who that is," Captain Cooper shrugged & just about everyone else agreed with her.

James & Sirius stepped back from the rest of the Team surrounding Anna's bed to find Peter & Remus waiting for them near the door. "Come on, Siri," James pulled him along.

"Just like the others?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," James said. "Wonder what's going on?"

"I'd sure like to know," Sirius agreed.

"Hey guys, get over here," Remus led them behind some curtains half-surrounding a bed. In front of them was Dr. Cross talking to someone.

"Any ideas who Mrs. Harriet is, Mrs. Langley?" he was asking.

"She must be Jolene's Mom," James whispered.

"Yeah, she was an elderly lady," Mrs. Langley began. "She would baby-sit Jolene a lot. Very nice lady. Can't imagine why Jo would claim to see her. Mrs. Harriet has been dead for a couple years & I don't know why Jo would say she didn't like her. They'd always get along."

"Well," Remus whispered back. "Now we know we're safe from Mrs. Harriet. Hey, there's another one in here." He pointed to a bed in the far corner. Dr. Cross had left Mrs. Langley & returned to the fallen Gryfindor Chaser. Remus hurried after him. "Who's that other one?"

"That's Davey Gudgeon," Dr. Cross said. "His last words, he was claiming his Grandpa told him to go see a Lethifold. Professor Snape found him passed out at the door. Speaking of which..." Dr. Cross smiled tiredly as said Professor appeared beside them.

"Sir, there's no Lethifold," Remus suddenly said without thinking.

"Oh?" Professor Snape turned to him. "& what makes you so sure?"

"If there was, wouldn't Davey have been eaten when he passed out?" Remus said. "It's how Lethifolds eat. I'll bet it was his last hallucination before he fainted."

"We did think of that," Professor Snape said. "But the door was always closed. It could have been the Lethifold's force coming through the door in an attempt to eat that knocked the boy out. They are strongly magical creatures after all but no one knows to much about them or what they can do."

"Do you think...maybe...Lethifolds can cause hallucinations?" Peter asked.

"We don't know," Professor Snape answered. "Maybe. It is possible."

"Someone from the Ministry Of Magic will be here over the weekend," said Dr. Cross. "Someone trained in handling such beasts. We'll find out for sure then."

"Quite right," Professor Snape agreed. "Now you lot should best be getting to the Great Hall for supper & then your dorms." As soon as the others left, he turned to Dr. Cross. "Perhaps, if we administer an anti-hallucinogenic potion to the castle we might be able to stop this before they collapse."

"I was thinking of that to," Dr. Cross agreed. "The problem is, once they start talking about what they see, it's already to late."

"We must find out if any one else are seeing things," Snape said. "Perhaps a meeting in the Great Hall?"

"Yes, we should talk to Albus," said Dr. Cross. "The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better."

"I'd like to see that," Sirius said as soon as he shut the door to the hospital wing behind him. "When whoever from the Ministry gets here we should go watch...maybe see the thing if it's there."

"I'm not going anywhere near that place," James retorted. "Think I want to get swallowed up alive?"

"We'd be under your Invisibility Cloak," Sirius pointed out.

"Those cloaks work just as well on Lethifolds as they do on Dementors," Remus said. "Dementors can see right through them." He added as an afterthought.

"Then what good is such a cloak if you can't even hide from the two worst monstrosities in the universe?" James pouted but Remus only rolled his eyes.

"Hey look, Hogsmeade trip on Halloween," Sirius pointed to a sign on the wall. He grinned mischievously before scurrying off to the Ravenclaw Portrait.

James sighed & turned to Remus & Peter. "Bet each of you 10 galleons as to whether or not Sirius will have the nerve to ask that blonde girl out?"

"I'll bet 10 to whether or not she says yes," Remus agreed. The three of them continued on their way, letting Sirius catch up on his own.

"So?" James asked.

"What?" Sirius stared at him.

"Did you ask her?"

"Ask who what?"

"Come ON! You know who what!" James groaned.

"Might of."

A long silence passed with Sirius's big stupid grin getting more & more on James nerves. "AND?'!"

"You'll see," Sirius just shrugged. James hit him over the head. "OW!"

"Should we get on the roof?" Peter interrupted before Sirius & James could pick on each other more.

Everyone agreed & the four were soon under the cloak watching the last of the girls get ready for bed. There weren't many left up as it was late into the night. Lily never even appeared. James groaned & sulked as he headed for bed. "We'll go up earlier next time," he ordered. "I'm going to see Lily whether she likes it or not."

"Betting on not," Sirius said making Remus & Peter laugh.

James just turned over in bed & pulled the covers over himself muttering, "Like she'd know about it anyway."


	6. A Waiting Game

**(6) A Waiting Game**

"You didn't ask her at all did you?" James asked for the uncountable time.

Sirius groaned & set aside his homework. "I'm getting tired of hearing that stupid question. If you must know...fine. I didn't get the chance to ask her yet. Ravenclaw's portrait was already closed by the time I got there & I don't know their password. But..." Sirius turned back to his Potions essay with a smile.

"But what?" James demanded.

Sirius sighed again. "I overheard the last bit of their conversation. The lot of them is going to meet up somewhere later today. I intend to show up as well & just ask her."

"Ask her what?" James went on. "Her NAME this time I hope."

Sirius just rolled his eyes. "I can get her out easy."

"Yeah right," James muttered. "You'll never get the nerve to ask her. You've never asked a girl out before. It's not that easy."

"My girl's NOT...Lily Evans," Sirius replied, earning a glare from James. "Honestly, you should try someone else."

Sirius spent most of the day snickering at James; feeling quite confident asking girls out would be easy for him. James was becoming more & more annoyed & insisted that Sirius would never be able to ask anyone out, especially since he rudely forgot to ask her name. Sirius merely shrugged & waved it away.

"Still want to go on about that bet?" James asked Remus & Peter when Sirius disappeared. They nodded. "You'll lose. He won't ask her."

"I'll ask her out!" Sirius grumbled as he stalked off down the hall by himself. He had conveniently fallen behind his three friends & soon managed to take off in a different direction. Having James, Peter & Remus around when he was ready to talk to that girl would have been embarrassing. Sirius knew that somehow, they'd find a way to mess it up.

Sirius was brought out of his thoughts by lively chatter ahead of him. Looking up, he noticed several Ravenclaw girls clustered together. Among them was his blonde target. "I'll teach you, Jim!" Sirius muttered to himself, determined not to fail. If he did, he'd be the laughing stock of the Marauders for the rest of his life. Sirius stood back listening in while wondering what her name was. He soon worried he wouldn't get it for the blonde one soon seemed to be leaving.

"Hey Rachelle?" one of her friends caught her attention. Sirius noted the name sounded French. "You going to Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah sure," Rachelle answered.

"Going with anyone?" another teased.

"No Javia," Rachelle shushed her friend.

"That could change," Sirius walked by as if he had just shown up. "Rachelle, I couldn't help but overhear. Would you like to go with me then?" She stared at him as her friends giggled. "Sirius remember? We sort of met on the ice over Christmas."

"I remember that," Rachelle said. "The one who can't stop." Sirius stared at the floor trying to hide his reddening face as the girls giggled. "I'll go with you then."

"Really?"

"Sure," Rachelle agreed.

"Um...OK," Sirius stammered, quite surprised. "I'll see you at the door then." He hurried away to gloat to James.

"I don't believe a word of it," James sneered, as Remus exclaimed at the same time, "No way" the moment Sirius found them outside & told them what happened.

"It's true!" Sirius declared. "Go & find out for yourself if you don't believe me. Told you to forget Evans & find another girl." With that, Sirius marched away with his head held high.

"SHOW OFF!" James yelled after him. He turned to Peter only to find his hand out. "What?"

"You lost the bet," Peter informed. "You owe me & so does Remus."

"Not quite," Remus said. "I believe I'm the one that won. You two betted whether or not Sirius would ask her. My bet is on whether or not she said yes. Since Sirius did ask her & she did say yes..." Remus held out his hand.

"I hate you!" James & Peter glared as they paid up.

"_Merci!_" ("Thank you!") Remus made sure the coins jingled loudly as he dropped them into his pocket before marching off with a huge smile on his face. "See you at the library, later."

James turned back to Peter. "& you wonder why I don't like dogs? I like cats. Cats are nice. Remus...is NOT nice." Peter agreed & both planned to get their money back. Somehow. Some way...

"Hey while he's gone, we should find Sirius & go to the Room Of Requirement," Peter suggested. "Could get in a bit more practice."

"Sure," James agreed. They soon located Sirius & the three of them hurried to the Room Of Requirement, eager to continue their training. "So what spell should we try now?"

"Well," Sirius began. "We're still working on the levitation...but the way you went & hexed me last time; the _Furnunculus_. I think I've still got a boil somewhere from that."

"Sorry!" James laughed. "Maybe we should work on that then."

"Uh, no," Sirius ended the matter right then & there. "We know you can do it. You know you can do it. That's enough."

"OK ok," James sighed. "Let's finish off _Wingardium Leviosa_."

They returned to the pile of cushions in the corner & began to try levitating them without speaking the incantation. James managed to lift them up only a few inches but couldn't hold the charm in place and the cushions quickly flopped back to the floor.

"This is harder then we thought," Peter moaned while they were taking a break an hour later. The three of them were lounging on the pile of cushions, eating sandwiches that had appeared in the center of the room on a little table.

"Can't even do a simple levitation spell," Sirius muttered. "Just Jim & his stupid boiler charm."

"Hey now!" James retorted. "_Furnunculus_ is a strong charm, thank you very much! I don't even know how I did it or if I can do it again." Sirius only pouted, pursing his lips & blinking his long black eyelashes. "OH! You're such a baby."

Remus basically laughed himself silly on his way to the library. He had just earned several extra galleons to spend along with the usual few coins his parents would send him around Hogsmeade time. Perhaps now he'd have enough to try out that new chocolate bar in Honeydukes.

He entered the castle & made a beeline for the library. Before entering, he spotted a quill lying where it had fallen in front of the door & picked it up. Glancing around, Remus noticed a 4th year Slytherin boy just disappearing around the corner. He groaned, wondering if he should ignor the Slytherin or not but soon decided to return the missing quill.

He soon located his schoolmate near a window & held up the feather. "Hey, you lost your quill." The boy did not seem to hear him at all. Remus moved closer, trying to get his attention yet feeling more & more uneasy. There was something oddly familiar about this boy. Remus was sure he had seen him before & soon realised it was on his first day back. He remembered seeing this person at the Ravenclaw table...but now he was in Slytherin. _Or perhaps, he was Slytherin all the time & just visiting Ravenclaw...rather unusual but not impossible._ He held the feather out closer to the other boy. "Didn't you hear me? You dropped your quill."

"I'm sorry," the boy turned around. "Did you say something?"

Remus finally had a good look at the boy. "Oh good Merlin!" He gasped as he dropped the quill.

"You dropped the quill."

"Wha-? Oh." Remus hurried to grab it. "How can you be here?"

"I uh, walked here."

"But-" Remus stood up & held the quill out. "Malfoy? Err...what are you doing here?"

"I said," Lucius groaned. "I walked here."

"But...but the other boy," Remus stammered. "Did you not see him?"

"The only other person here is a certain little mudblood who will remain nameless!" Lucius snapped. "& that's MY quill. Give it back!"

"Sorry!" Remus half-threw the quill at Lucius & ran, knowing full-well it was not Lucius he had first seen. He searched around for the other Slytherin but could not find him, not even by picking up a trail for there seemed to be no trail. It was if the boy had vanished into thin air.

Since Remus was relying heavily on his wolf-ish alter ego to track down the mystery student, he couldn't do anything when it suddenly decided to talk to him yet again. _Tu ne trouves pas étrange qu'un gars soit là et que le moment d'après il soit remplacé par une autre personne? (Do you not find it strange that one moment that guy is there, only to be replaced by a different person a second later?) _

_"De quoi tu parles?" ("What are you talking about?")_ Remus huffily replied, annoyed that he might now have to choose between library & supper if he wanted to keep in time with the evening curfew. He also wasn't aware that he was speaking out loud. "What are you looking at?" he half-snapped, half-growled at a 2nd Year girl who had come in the opposite direction & passed him by only to pause in her tracks to stare at him. Judging by her robe colors, she was in Hufflepuff.

"No...nothing!" she shakily replied before fleeing in the opposite direction just as Remus snapped, "Well off with you then!"

_Ca c'était rafraîchissant! (That was refreshing!)_ the wolf happily replied.

_"Aw ferme la, elle faisait de mal à personne." ("Oh shut up, she wasn't hurting anyone.") _

_Quoique je ne t'ai pas entendu te plaindre, non? (Didn't hear you complaining though, did I?)_ the wolf grumbled. _Et ce que je m'apprêtais à dire c'est que...ce gars pourrait être capable de changer de forme, comme un Métamorphe. (& what I was about to say was...that guy might be able to change his shape, like a Metamorph.) _

_"QUOI? Est-ce que tu pourrais être encore plus stupide avec tes idées!" ("WHAT? Could you BE any more stupider with your ideas!")_ Remus laughed back, rolling his eyes at the idea of Lucius Malfoy being able to change his features.

_Tu va nous faire jeter dehors si tu continues à crier aussi fort. De toute façon, tu as sûrement l'air d'un idiot quand tu laisses place à la Schizophrénie comme ça. (You're going to get us both thrown out if you keep shouting out loud at me. Besides, you no doubt appear like an idiot when you give in to the Schitzophrenia like that.) _

_"De toute façon," ("Besides," ) _Remus went on, ignoring his canine. _"si Malfoy pouvait le faire, il se racourcierait les cheveux, il a l'air d'une fille!" ("if Malfoy could do that, he'd shorten his hair since he looks like a girl!") _This comment caused both Remus and the wolf to chuckle softly as he walked away.

"I swear he gets crazier every day," Lucius muttered turning on his heel to head off on his way. He soon found what he was looking for when he passed the open door of the Charms room. Severus was sitting on the windowsill at the back of the classroom & looking out; though clearly not seeing anything. "Finally! I've been looking for you everywhere, Sev…what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Severus shrugged.

"Oh, so that's why you look really worried right now is that it?" Lucius teased.

"Lucius!" Severus snapped, shutting his friend up. "Look, something bad has entered Hogwarts. I can actually sense it. I just don't know where it's coming from."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Lucius said. "They'll find a way to revive everyone & stop this...whatever it is."

"It's happening again," Severus muttered, slightly distracted.

"What?"

"Someone else is going to collapse, I know it!"

"Severus," Lucius sighed. "You won't get it. I know that. You'll be fine."

"I wasn't referring to myself!" Severus hissed. "But someone else is going down & soon."

"You...You do have it, don't you?" Lucius asked after a moment of silence. "You've been seeing things or someone. We should get you to the hospital now."

"Not me, Lucius!" Severus snapped. "Not yet, anyway."

"Then who?"

"I don't know," Severus shrugged. "The reception's still faint but someone else is near the end of the symptoms & just needs to drop."

Lucius sighed. "If that's the case, then it's not a question of 'Is some one else going to collapse?' but 'When is someone else going to collapse?'"

"I'm sorry to say this, but I must agree with you."

They left the classroom & headed for the Great Hall for supper. There was nothing else to do but wait. Wait for the upcoming Hogsmeade trip.

Wait to find out who the next victim was.


	7. Halloween Horrors

**(7) Halloween Horrors **

The day of the trip to Hogsmeade, Sirius was the first downstairs & ready. He was rather hyper at the time, running on nervousness & bugging James to hurry up. Sirius was planning to meet Rachelle as soon as possible to prove how much of a loser James was.

"That's it!" James finally snapped. "I'll show you." He waited, staring at the girls' door until a certain redhead came out. James stood up & marched passed Sirius with a very determined look on his face. "Lily? Um...well, with all that's been going on lately, it's best not to go anywhere alone. Want to come with me to Hogsmeade? Just this once." he added hastily as Lily crossed her arms.

"Thank you but I'm fine, Potter," Lily said. "I've got a few friends I'm going with anyway. Bye!" With that, she hurried to the portrait & left the tower.

James groaned as Sirius started snickering behind him. "Let's go."

"Go get another girl for you?" Sirius teased.

"To breakfast."

"Ok."

James led the others out, marching rather quickly to the Great Hall. "Stop smiling!" he suddenly snapped.

"I'm not," Sirius smiled even bigger. "This is a wince. I'm in pain. Tripped out of the portrait right? Hurt my foot-OUCH!" James had stomped on said foot & continued on his way.

"Now it's a wince," Remus teased as he & Peter passed Sirius who was currently hopping around on his good foot.

"Oh shut up."

The four of them soon arrived at the Great Hall with Sirius limping behind the others. He quickly straightened up in spite of himself when he noticed Rachelle at the Ravenclaw Table. He hurried to his own place with James, Peter & Remus, taking care to sit the farthest from James who was still upset that Lily Evans had turned him down yet again.

"Oh come on, Jim," Peter poked his friend to get his attention. "Maybe Sirius is right about getting a new girl."

"Traitor!" James hissed, causing Peter to roll his eyes.

"Look, she obviously doesn't like you," Peter went on. "Maybe you should try making her jealous. Show her what she's missing."

"Doubt that would work anyway," said Remus. "She already doesn't like Jim to begin with. She wouldn't care if he went out with someone else."

"Thanks Remus," Peter snapped. "For ruining my trying to help James out."

"Bye!" Sirius suddenly jumped up to leave.

"Where you going?" James retorted.

"The Ravenclaws are leaving. Rachelle is leaving; so I am," Sirius pointed out. "See you in Hogsmeade."

"Fine," James muttered, watching everyone leave.

"Come on you two," Remus soon got up as well. "I want to get going."

"No," James said. "You just want to get fat."

"I'll never get as fat as your head, Potter," Remus defended. "Now..._BOUGE!_ (MOVE!) Both of you." He headed for the cluster of students going to Hogsmeade without even bothering to check if James & Peter were following. Everyone handed over their permission forms before regrouping into their personal cliques.

"Lily will go out with me soon enough," James declared once they were all together, minus Sirius.

"Right," Remus nodded, pretending to believe him.

"I'll show you," James went on. "She'll be my girlfriend & we'll be the most popular couple in school &-& & what in the name of Merlin?'!" Peter & Remus turned to see what James was glaring at & saw Lily Evans come strutting out of the castle.

Arm in arm with none other then Frank Longbottom!

James stared at them as they went by, hardly hearing the howls of laughter from Remus & Peter behind him. "I'll get her back..." he finally muttered.

"Think he bought it?" Lily asked once they had entered Hogsmeade. She looked around but couldn't see James Potter anywhere.

"No offence but," Frank began. "I hope not. I'm the one stuck living in Gryfindor Tower with him & his friends. He might beat me up now or something."

"I doubt Potter is quite that stupid," Lily said. "But he'll have to answer to me if you have any problems."

"OK," Frank agreed.

"What about you?" Lily suddenly asked. "Is there a girl you're constantly bugging?"

"No, I don't know how to approach her," Frank shrugged as they turned down the street towards Zonko's Joke Shop.

"Ooo but there is a girl?"

"Maybe."

"Frank?"

"If I say," Frank hesitated. "You promise not to start girl-talking & let the whole female population of Hogwarts know?" Lily just nodded with a smile. "Alice Jay."

"No way!" Lily exclaimed. "Really?" Frank just shrugged. "That's so sweet. I think you & Alice would go well together. I could help set you two up later? Once I'm sure Potter's off my case that is." She rolled her eyes.

"You mean that?" Frank perked up.

"Sure," Lily agreed. "Someday soon enough. Oh let's go this way," she nodded to a group of five up ahead, the Marauders & a Ravenclaw girl. Frank agreed & they turned into an alleyway between buildings & out of sight.

"We're not following you around," James declared. "We just happened to be going this way & you just happened to be here."

"Don't give me that rubbish!" Sirius snapped. "I saw you three duck under the bushes when we were at the Shrieking Shack."

"Ridiculous!" James snapped.

"Then you lot made it a point to be interested in something in the window of Zonko's while we were there."

"We WERE interested in something," Remus crossed his arms.

"Yeah," Sirius huffed. "Us! & now you three are here."

"So?" Peter demanded. "Hogsmeade is a small village. It's bound to happen."

"Not that small," Sirius retorted.

"We're not following you, OK?" James repeated.

"I said," Sirius made a rude hand sign in James's face. "Go away!"

"Sirius!" Remus snapped. "Don't DO that in front of the lady. How rude!"

"It's fine," Rachelle giggled. "I've got two brothers who do that all the time."

"Come on you two," James said. "Let's go to Dervish and Banges. I need to get some polish for my wand anyway. So Sirius, that's where we'll be so you won't run into us anymore OK?"

"Fine," Sirius muttered. Once they were gone he turned to Rachelle. "Ignor them. They're just trying to embarrass me. Want to go to Madam Puddifoot's?"

"Sure," Rachelle agreed.

They soon entered the little cafe. Every table had a frilly cloth over it & the sweet scent of teas, cakes & pies filled the air. They took a table by the window after Sirius got two butterbeers.

Sirius sighed, staring at his butterbeer & wondering what to say next. _Girls are hard to talk to after all. Oh well, so long as Jim doesn't find out..._ "Um...well...you know, I've been wanting to ask you out for a while now." _Merlin that's stupid._

"Figured so," Rachelle said. "I've...uh...been kind of hoping you would."

_Ok not so stupid._ "Really?" Sirius asked. "I mean for how long?"

"Since you went ice-skating," Rachelle laughed.

"Aw gees," Sirius flustered. "That was embarrassing." _So is admitting it! WHY did I say that?_ "I mean, I know how to stop right? Just Remus must have charmed them to keep going or whatever."

"Oh," Rachelle nodded. "Probably. Still was pretty funny."

"I guess so," Sirius shrugged.

"I wonder if days like that will come again?" Rachelle suddenly asked.

"Well, it usually snows just after Halloween," Sirius said. "I'll get my own skates this time though."

"If you can," Rachelle muttered. "What's happening in the castle though might ruin that."

"I'm sure it'll stop soon enough," Sirius assured her.

"I hope so," Rachelle agreed. "Right now, I just ask myself every day, 'Who's next in the hospital wing?' I'm worried it might be me."

"I doubt that," Sirius said. "It won't affect everyone. None of the Professors are in the hospital so one of them will save us all, I'm sure."

"But Sirius," Rachelle went on. "Didn't they tell us it starts with some sort of hallucination or whatever?"

"Uh-huh," Sirius nodded, finishing his butterbeer. "What...have you been seeing stuff?"

"I've been feeling different lately," Rachelle admitted. "Like I always have to watch my back; like someone's coming to get me. Can't sleep to well either."

"Why?"

"My Grandpa," Rachelle stated simply. "He's always in my dorm at night now, saying stuff that my time's nearly up & threats & stuff."

"Well, report him," Sirius said. "Send him to Azkaban or something. Or if he's old & crazy, maybe St. Mungo's Hospital."

"Grandpa used to be the greatest guy I ever knew," Rachelle declared. "He's...uh...well...he's also been dead for a few years."

"Oh," Sirius sighed. "It seems that way with everyone. Whoever they see is dead a long time ago & acting the exact opposite of what they used to be when alive. It's not real, Rachelle. Try to ignor it. We'll stop by the hospital wing & get that anti-hallucinogenic potion for you later."

"Already had some."

"Oh well, maybe a bit more would help," Sirius suggested. "I to, sometimes wonder who's going to collapse next but-"

"Let's go to Honeydukes," Rachelle interrupted as she suddenly stood up, swinging her silvery sheet of hair so that it whipped out over her shoulder.

"Uh...sure," Sirius gulped, feeling slightly dazed & exotic at the effect of the rather sparkly hair as they got up & left. _It's only hair. But really, is this girl even human?_

Halfway to Honeydukes, Rachelle broke the silence. "I'm half-Veela by the way."

"You are?" Sirius yelped, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, Mama is Veela," Rachelle went on. "But Papa's just human."

"I've heard of Veelas before," Sirius said. "Forgive me but, what exactly...does being Veela mean?"

Rachelle laughed. "Veelas are a close relative of humans, but with interesting powers. Female Veelas, simply put & don't take this the wrong way, can exert a strong grip over men, particularly with our brand of sensual dancing. Any males watching will instantly be overcome with a desire to watch and impress us with some great heroic feat." Here she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, even when we're not using our powers, Veelas still carry a certain aura which is deeply inspiring to men, but the effect does seem to wear off a little with age."

"So, the females are basically sex-kittens?" Sirius blurted out, not thinking, before his eyes widened in horror. _Dear Merlin what have I just said? _

He needn't have worried though for Rachelle had doubled over with laughter. "It's a good thing you're cute because you can be pretty obnoxious!"

"I am…so sorry," Sirius gulped, looking for anywhere to hide.

"It's natural to do that anyway," Rachelle said. "I may only be half-Veela but I still have the magical properties concerning the species."

"OK," Sirius tried to cool his face by waving his hand a moment. "So uh, what about Veela males?"

"Quite the opposite actually," Rachelle explained. "The more irritated they are really means they like you, though this trait is mostly for full Veela males. Half-Veela males usually tend to lean more on their human side. If they like you, they'll be nicer."

"Ah OK," Sirius said, feeling rather nervous about the fact that Lucius Malfoy was irritating. _Hopefully, Malfoy is not Veela. Doubt it anyway..._ "Hope I don't meet any then."

"They won't affect you much anyway," Rachelle shrugged. "Unless you're gay."

"...Right..."

As the day came closer to the evening, everyone slowly started towards the castle. On their way back at the end of the day, Sirius & Rachelle rejoined with Peter & Remus while James sulked in the background muttering something about getting Lily back. The group was among the last to leave Hogsmeade to cross the grounds to the castle.

"You feeling OK, Rachelle?" Sirius asked, suddenly noticing she was looking rather peaky.

"Fine, I just...I'm fine," Rachelle sighed & they walked for a few minutes in silence. "Oh...oh Merlin I-"

"What's wrong?" Sirius stopped & turned to look at her.

Rachelle shook her head & suddenly ran away screaming "Leave me alone...leave me! Just stay away!"

"Rachelle? What I do?" Sirius yelled.

"I don't think it's you, Sirius," Remus ran after her with the others following. The Marauders soon found her near the Quidditch Pitch; lying on the grass unconscious.

"Oh great," Sirius groaned. "Not her now. Who'll be next?"

"Let's get her to the hospital wing," James said.

Rachelle was soon added to the ever-growing number of students in the hospital wing. As there was nothing else to do, the Marauders headed on to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast.

James, Peter, Remus & Sirius looked around the transformed Hall in awe. There were hundreds of Jack-O-Lanterns littering the room and someone, Dumbledore most likely, they reasoned, had charmed black candles which were floating in the air. The combined effect was that the entire hall was cast in an eerie glow, while the tables were filled with mounds of food including several different types of cakes, pastries & candy.

Sirius however wasn't interested in any of it as he was too distracted by how terribly his date with Rachelle had ended. The others immediately knew something was wrong as Sirius had yet to pile his plate with food.

"You alright, Siri?" James asked as he gave his friend a nudge to bring him back to reality.

"Just wished we left earlier," Sirius shrugged, still rather dazed by what had happened to Rachelle; though he did glance once over the Great Hall, he didn't pay it much attention afterward. "Maybe if she had some more of that potion she'd of been fine."

"They'll revive her," Remus assured. "All of them. Someday."

"Hope so," Sirius muttered.

James sighed, looking over the other tables. The night meandered on with the whole school seeming to be having a relatively good time. No one was prepared for what happened next. Without warning, several Professors at their table jumped up at once, quickly catching everyone's attention.

James, Peter & Remus stood up so sharply to see what was going on that even Sirius noticed & stood to stare in the direction they were all looking. All of the Professors were gathered in a group and Sirius caught a glimpse of a fallen figure on the floor.

"Rohan!" Professor Snape was already kneeling next to the Care Of Magical Creatures Professor. "Rohan? Wake up."

"Oh no!" Sirius slumped back into his chair, slamming his fork down & burying his face in his hands. "& I had JUST finished telling Rachelle none of the Professors had it."


	8. Divinations Of Doom

**(8) Divinations Of Doom**

No one said anything as they were straining to hear what was going on up front; however, the group of Professors surrounding Shepherd kept their voices hushed & only those closest to the front could hear what was going on.

"Anything Jherek?" Dumbledore asked after a few moments silence.

"No," Professor Snape sighed & stood up. "Just like the others; in an 'unwakable' sleep."

"I'll take him to the hospital wing," Professor Johnson conjured a stretcher & levitated Shepherd onto it.

"Albus, did you know...we have it?"

"No Jherek," Dumbledore watched Johnson take Shepherd away. "Rohan didn't say anything. Never mentioned a thing. At least, not to me."

Students of all tables turned in their seats to watch as Professor Shepherd was carried passed them. Most of them looked uneasy & likely felt even worse. If their own Professors were not immune whatever was taking over Hogwarts, would there even be anyone left awake to see the end of the year? Headmaster Dippet ordering their attention back to the front soon brought everyone back to reality, if there was such a thing left. What was reality? What was just phantom?

"Jherek if you will," Dippet let the potions master take over.

"As you all may or may not know," Professor Snape began. "We have recently produced an anti-hallucinogenic potion which has already been administered to those whom we knew were seeing things. Anyone else with such symptoms should go to the hospital wing now. By the end of the week, we should have enough made for all, so even those who have yet to hallucinate may be able to stop it before it starts."

Normally, there was loud chatter as students hurried out of the Great Hall after eating. But not this time, it was unusually quiet with hushed voices between friends.

"Wonder what he saw?" Lucius asked.

"I don't know," Severus shrugged. "I just hope my father's not next."

"Severus?"

"Yes?" Severus nearly yelped as Professor Snape had somehow appeared behind him.

"Come by my office," was all the elder Snape said as he left.

"Now what I do?" Severus groaned.

"Most likely put the glue on his chair," Peter teased as he went by. Severus glared at him.

"Can you believe it?" James began once they had left. The four of them were currently heading towards Gryfindor Tower, Remus trailing behind. "The Professors aren't immune to it either."

"Wonder why he didn't get any of that potion?" Peter asked.

"Maybe he did," Sirius half-snapped. "Just like Rachelle. She told me she had some & look what happened anyway."

"Maybe it was to late," said James. "You might have to take this potion on time or else it won't work anyway. Probably what happened to Shepherd."

Sirius just shrugged. "What do you think, Rem-now where did he go?"

"I don't know," James scanned around for sandy hair. "Not the time for his 'furry little problem' is it?"

"Don't think so."

"Let's go back & get him," James started back the way they had come.

"Jim," Sirius whined. "We'll be late for the curfew. Besides, who's to say he's not ahead of us & already there?" James groaned but turned back in the direction of the dorms & they soon found themselves in front of the Portrait. James was about to say the password when he was interrupted.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Remus bounded around the corner & just about ran them over. He was out of breath. "I was...running up all the stairs...the one...I was on moved &-"

"Breathe Remus, breathe. That's right one more time now."

"Siri!" Remus glared. "Quit treating me like a pregnant woman."

"You're panting like one," Sirius teased.

"Just...open the Portrait."

Severus stood in front of the door to his father's office, thinking of anything he might of done, Peter's voice nagging the back of his mind. He sighed & entered. "It was Pettigrew that did it."

"Did what?"

"What you want to talk to me about right?"

"What?"

An awkward silence passed.

"What are we talking about?" Severus finally asked.

"I've called you hear for your Occlumency," Professor Snape started. "I'm...uh...not to sure how Mr. Pettigrew fits in with that. But I'll find out soon enough."

"Oh," Severus gulped. "Right. What do you mean?"

"Well, it's time you started learning how to block invasion from other telepaths," Snape began. "A war in the mind is one of the worst you could ever go through. The _Legilimens Charm_ allows one to actually explore another's mind and see the memories stored there. A skilled Legilimens can target the memories that are most hurtful, causing the most pain or fear and use that knowledge to manipulate the person whose mind they have entered. It's actually similar to the _Imperius_ which was later developed as a branch-off spell. Occlumency is the defense of the mind against such an attack."

Severus sighed. He knew this was to come sooner or later but to actually block out his father? He wondered if that was even possible.

"Blocking others is the most advanced step in Occlumency," Snape went on. "& once you've stopped me, nothing can touch you." He was about to sit down at his desk but Severus was on him like a cat.

"No Father," Severus pushed him away & began inspecting the chair.

"What is it?" Snape sighed, rubbing his temple with the tip of his mahogany wand.

"Oh uh...nothing," Severus straightened up when he found there was nothing wrong with the chair. "Just Petti...nothing."

"I'll see about that," said Snape. "_Legilimus_!"

Severus was hit with the charm before his brain could register what happened. He fell to the floor, trying to block it from entering farther. His father easily reached the fresh memory of Peter telling Severus about the glue on his chair but he didn't stop there. Severus soon passed out.

"Pitiful attempt, Severus," Snape sighed from somewhere in the world of the living.

Severus opened his eyes & found himself flat on his back & staring at the ceiling. "What happened?" He slowly stood up.

"That was to easy," Snape went on. "Much to easy."

"Well if you'd tell me how to actually push you out," Severus muttered, sitting down at his usual spot in the classroom.

"Simple enough," his father declared. "How do you reverse most charms? With _Finite_."

"Oh thanks," Severus muttered. "That's helpful…considering that the stronger the spell the harder the _Finite_."

"Quite right," Snape agreed. "But it's _Finite_ none the less. Come back here. We'll try it again." Severus tried to get up but found he couldn't move. "Come now, I don't have all night."

"It was my chair he glued," Severus suddenly realised though it was to late. His father groaned & buried his face in one hand.

James plopped down on the couch in front of the fire. Sirius landed on him, stretching out over the whole couch with his head on James's lap (much to the messy-haired teen's annoyance) while Peter stretched out on the floor as Remus took up his favorite chair, sprawling his legs over the arm. Not wanting to be left out, Nightstalker emerged from the embers, shook off the ashes & flew over to land on the chair's top, hooting for attention.

"I think anyone can end up in the hospital," James suddenly said, watching Remus grumble & shift to get more comfortable while sharing space with his pet. "It doesn't matter if your pure or less in blood or what age you are. There's quite a mix in the hospital already."

"But if you're Slytherin," Sirius sneered. "They won't be affected like the rest of us."

"Nope," said Remus. "There's two Slytherin girls already lying in the hospital wing."

"How would you know?"

"I saw them Sirius," Remus defended. "Earlier today."

Sirius raised his head off James to look at Remus better. "What would you be doing down there?" he asked. "You-you're not seeing things are you?"

"I never said that," Remus snapped to quickly.

"Remus what are you seeing?" James demanded. "What's going on with you?"

"Guys, I'm fine," Remus sighed. "I never said I went down there to get some of that potion or that I was seeing things. It's your own minds that draw that conclusion. I might of been down there for something else or perhaps seen them while passing by."

"But-" Sirius started but James poked him.

James waited for Remus to become interested in Nightstalker again before whispering to Sirius. "His furry problem, remember? Who's to say it wasn't for that?" Sirius scowled, crossed his arms, mumbled & did several other rather babyish things but otherwise remained silent.

"It's hard to think that the Professors are infected to," Remus went on after settling back into his chair with the black owl nested into his lap.

"Yeah," James agreed. "I wonder what type of illness it is?"

"Who's saying it's an illness?" said Peter. "What if it's an attack by-by that Voldemort wizard? Apparently, he's becoming quite powerful & collecting a lot of followers to the dark side."

"But he's no where near here is he?" asked Sirius.

"Last I heard, he was around France somewhere," said James.

"France?" Remus stopped petting Nightstalker & stared at James.

"Yeah," said James. Sirius poked him. "What?" Sirius poked him again. "Quit it, dammit!" Sirius stared at him, trying to get a message into that thick brain his friend had. "Oh...yeah you're from France aren't you Remus?" Remus nodded as Sirius smacked himself on the forehead.

"He was last seen in Paris," Peter said. "Where are you from?"

"Rouen."

"Oh you'll be fine then," Peter went on. "I'm sure. I've never heard of it. Doubt Voldemort would. I've heard of Nice, Nancy, Toulouse...that's about it. Besides Paris of course."

"He was probably just interested in Paris anyway," James agreed. "'Cause it's probably the most famous city of France."

"I hope so," Remus returned to petting his owl though he was lost in thought of his home.

"Wonder where he'll go next?" Peter went on.

"So long as he doesn't come up here again," Sirius muttered. "My family's dark enough."

"Didn't you say your brother met him last year?" James asked.

"Yeah but that was before France," Sirius said. "He's long gone from my home. Better not come back."

"Well after what I heard in the kitchens," James began. "Remember I told you about that lady...Minerva McGon-Gon Mc-something anyway."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "That didn't sound to good."

"Ouch!" A yelp from Remus made him turn around just in time to see the blond boy pull his legs up & curl into a ball on the chair as Nightstalker was thrown to the floor with a pitiful hoot.

"& neither did that!" Sirius burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" James muttered. "What happened?"

"Damn bird..." Remus gulped. "Flexed talons. That's the first & last time you're nesting in my lap you stupid owl!" It wasn't long before James & Peter joined Sirius in laughing.

Nightstalker hopped closer to the chair, hooting quietly & clicking his beak against the legs. He was trying to apologize no doubt but Remus paid him no attention. He got out of the chair, shoved the owl over to the fire with his foot & headed for the stairs with James, Peter & Sirius following, still laughing.

Classes the next day started on a solemn note. They students could sense their Professors were worried & they didn't blame them. Everyone now knew that they were just as vulnerable as the next person & each was expecting the other to end up in the hospital sooner then later.

Care Of Magical Creatures was taken over by Professor Clarkson, the current Diviner of Hogwarts who was now pulling double duty for both Shepherd's class as well as his own. To make matters worse, Divination quickly became the most tense of classes for it was only a matter of time before students would start asking him if he knew exactly what would happen next. Several days passed without incident until one cold rainy afternoon.

Lily sighed & tried not to stare out the window into the pouring rain. But the mood outside matched the gloominess of the classroom. With another sigh, she shoved her star chart & the horoscope she was working on aside. "Sir, do you know how it'll all end?" Others pushed their own lessons aside to listen in.

Professor Clarkson knew what she was referring to but evaded the question. "A Diviner who is that good is a fraud, Miss Evans."

"Surely you know something," James said.

"I do know it'll get worse before it gets better," Clarkson answered.

"But will anyone die of this?" Lily went on. "Will anyone return from this sleep they're in?"

Professor Clarkson sighed, knowing it won't be easy to avoid any questions. "I'll tell you what I do know." He pulled out a large envelope from his desk & opened it. "In here is a file on each of my students. The reading I got from your palms, your Crystal Ball proclamations that were shown to me; among other things. Now as this is confidential, I will not say any names. So I'll put it another way." He laid the files on his desk. "Out of the 67 in Divination 4th Year class, only 3 will not sleep. 4 of you shall disappear for a few days; 3 of which will see death & one of which will perform a dark deed." He placed the envelope back into his desk & closed the drawer. "Let's leave it at that for now." He dismissed the class & let the rather quiet students leave.

"Only 3 won't sleep?" James repeated once they were well away from the Divine Tower. "What are the chances of us not getting put under by this?"

"I wonder who's going to murder who," Sirius said.

"Who's going to murder who?" James asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Didn't you hear? 4 will leave. 3 will see death while the 4th one performs some dark deed? That's murder that is."

"Oh yeah," James remembered. "I bet whoever this murderer is...or will be...he's probably the one responsible for this."

"Doesn't make sense though does it?" Remus said. "If you can foresee 3 murders, wouldn't you try to stop them?"

"Maybe Professor Clarkson is one of the 3," Peter said. "...Or worse."

"No way!" Remus snapped. "Clarkson is no murderer. He doesn't seem the type."

"That's usually when it's the worst, Remus," James said. "'Doesn't seem the type' which is why the unsuspecting victims get attacked."

"Oh he'll probably be one of the ones who dies," Remus muttered stubbornly. The others just rolled their eyes as they hurried to the next class.

It wasn't long before such rumors began floating around the castle, all wondering who was next & when. The main one was which three would die; with favorites being Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy or Regulus Black among the Gryfindors.

The Marauders' joking about being rid of their three targets were interrupted one day at breakfast by the mail owls when a large seagull landed in front of Sirius. Half the envelope landed in his cereal bowl. Annoyed, Sirius shoved the gull away & pulled off the letter. He dried it off as best he could before saying, "Oh, it's Andie! About time."

_Hello Siri, _

_I guess it's about time I write. All is well; Ted & I are now in Finland. We're living as muggles for now. We decided it was best when our family showed up at Ted's house during our at-home wedding. I don't know how they found out about it but anyway, that was a long time ago but we're lying low for a bit, just to make sure. _

_I'll write again later. I've something of importance to tell you but it's best not to put to much in one letter, just in case. _

_Bye, Andie_

"Finland huh?" Remus laughed. "That explains the gull."

Sirius didn't answer. Instead, he stood up rather fast & marched over to the Slytherin Table. "Regulus! How'd you find out? Did you follow her or something?"

"I've not the slightest idea what you're talking about?" Regulus retorted.

"Ruining Andie's wedding!" Sirius yanked Regulus off his chair & to his feet.

"Let me go!" Regulus demanded. "I didn't do anything."

"I don't believe that!"

"Mr's Sirius & Regulus Black!"

The brothers turned around face to face with Professor Snape as James snorted into his pumpkin pastry, "That sounded so gay."

"James!" Remus hissed but James only snorted again, pulling off his glasses to wipe his eyes. "Oh come on. They're brothers not...whatever you just said that I don't care to repeat."

"I know that Rem," James said. "I'm just saying it SOUNDED-"

"It's worth the detention," Sirius interrupted, sitting back down in his place. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," James lied, still snickering.

"When's you're detention?" Peter asked.

"Soon enough," Sirius shrugged.

Peter watched as Remus was still quietly scolding James & took advantage of his inattention. "So you'll be at the Room of Requirement tonight?"

"Oh yes definitely," Sirius declared.

It wasn't until late that night when they could get away from Remus who had fallen asleep on his Ancient Runes book to do any more training. They were still working on the levitation charm on the cushions without the use of wands or incantations. An hour passed without much incident. Frustrated, the three of them landed in a heap among the cushions.

"We're never going to get this on time," Peter finally sighed.

"Yes we will," said Sirius. "We just hadn't practiced much this week."

"Sirius," James started. "I'm more inclined to believe Peter. This is ridiculous. We're to young for this, let alone Animagic.

"So that's it then?" Sirius snarled, jumping up. "You're just going to give up; is that it?"

"Well..." James began.

"No, don't even think of it!" Sirius focused on a cushion with more determination then ever. "It will work. It will! Once we just get the feel of wandless magic, we can do anything." He glared at the cushion that refused to move.

"Sirius," Peter sighed.

"It will work!" Sirius glared at the cushion. James & Peter stared at him for several silent minutes.

"Sirius," James broke the silence at last. "we can't do it."

"Oh yeah?" Sirius pointed. "Look at that." James & Peter turned over & saw that the cushion Sirius was focusing on was floating in the air. "I've had it there for a few moments already & it's still floating. Still think we can't do it?"

James & Peter slowly got up & backed away as if standing down from a cobra. "Whoa!" Peter gasped.

Sirius let the cushion fall down. "Try again!"

Neither James or Peter quite got their cushions off the floor like Sirius did that night but they never again complained about it being to hard either. Sirius, meanwhile, was soon doing silent simple charms wherever he was. He even managed a _Reducto_ on a random First Year's bag, splitting it wide open. James demanded that Sirius stop doing charms around the castle after this when Remus had wondered allowed how that rather sturdy-looking bag had split so suddenly. Now was not yet the time for Remus catching them in the act.

"But it's fun!" Sirius whispered back.

"Quiet!" James hissed. "If that boy really is the werewolf we know he is, he'll come with all the special sense that canines have. He'll hear us!"

"Fine."

"Sirius," Remus was suddenly standing in front of them.

"Yes?" Sirius & James both yelped, afraid they were caught.

"Um...this is for you," Remus handed over a red envelope. "I snatched it off Regulus before he could show it off in front of everyone."

"Oh no," Sirius muttered as the Howler spilt open with his mother's voice.

_**SIRIUS! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK YOUR BROTHER LIKE THAT? WE DID WHAT WE HAD TO AT THAT VILE WEDDING! IF WE EVER FIND ANDROMEDA AGAIN SHE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR RUNNING OFF WITH A MUGGLE! DO YOURSELF & THE REST OF US A FAVOR & NEVER SPEAK TO HER AGAIN! IF YOU DO YOU'LL BE IN MORE TROUBLE THAN EVER!**_

"Not like we write much to each other anyway," Sirius scoffed though, secretly, he hoped to do the same thing & just run away. Then perhaps he could find Andromeda again & stay with her family.

"Come on," James tugged at his arm. "They can't stop Andie anymore than they can you."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius sighed. He shuddered. "It's getting cold isn't it?" Sirius pulled his cloak more tightly around him as he followed James.

The cold air soon carried the scent of snow as the wind shrieked through the castle, making everyone freeze. Sure enough, snow did appear one morning in mid-November & more was falling in thick flakes.


	9. From The Grave?

_for Steve Irwin…R.I.P._

**(9) From The Grave?**

Along with the cold & snow came the end-of-term exams & piles of homework during the last few weeks leading up to Christmas. Everyone was scrounging around for last-minute revisions for the mid-year exam & skiving notes off each other's homework. It wasn't long before James, Peter & Sirius noticed that Remus's work was becoming less & less cluttered with notes. For once, Remus wasn't paying much attention to schoolwork.

"Something wrong, Rem?" Sirius asked late one evening. He was answered with a blank stare. "Well, you're not being very helpful with your notes. You've not done much of anything, just barely enough to pass by. Did one of us do something?" Remus just shook his head & returned to his book. Sirius groaned, hating it when his blond friend clammed up like this but further attempt at communication proved futile & Sirius finally gave up. Remus continued in much the same way for the next few days.

"You should go to the hospital wing if you're not well," James remarked one day.

"Speaking of hospital wing," Sirius pointed to an announcement on the school boards notifying all remaining students to report to the hospital wing at once. The anti-hallucinogenic potion was finally ready. "Wonder if it'll work?"

James shrugged. "We might as well try before it gets us to." With that, the four of them changed their direction & arrived at the hospital wing.

"So will this wake everyone up?" Peter asked.

"No," said Madam Pomfrey as she handed it out to all. "I'm still working on that. I think why they collapsed is that if the person has been seeing things for a period of time, the potion becomes ineffective unless they take it before then. At the moment the shortest time someone has collapsed after seeing these hallucinations has been 24 hours."

"So, basically if they don't have it within 24 hours, it's too late?" Sirius asked.

"Right," Madam Pomfrey agreed.

"That's why Rachelle is here," Sirius sighed, looking over at her bed where she lay. "It was too late for her."

"I'll wake them up," Madam Pomfrey promised. "I will. David & I are working on that."

Sirius nodded & looked again at Rachelle before slowly moving along through the beds. There was Alice Jay, two others from Gryfindor, several more from the other Houses including Slytherin, as well as Professor Shepherd & Davey Gudgeon, the kid the Marauders often teased. Looking at him now, Sirius started to regret ever bothering the boy but decided it was best not to let the others know. He didn't know why. Maybe it was he felt just as vulnerable now as the next person. _But the potion! The potion will work._

Sirius wasn't the only one with that thought. It was as if a false sense of security had taken over the castle. Now that they had taken the potion, students felt they might be all right after all & changed their focus from who's having hallucinations to who may be a murderer, if Divination class was anything to go by.

But that comforting thought was banished rather quickly in Sirius's mind to be replaced by a more depressing one later that afternoon. A note from Professor Dumbledore landed on his plate while in the Great Hall for supper.

_It is time for your detention. Hopefully, you will not fight with your brother or anyone else after this. Go to the Thestral stables & catch all the parrots that the Second Years had used for their last Potions Class. They seemed to have escaped their cages…_

_Signed: Professor Dumbledore_

"What where they using parrots for?" Sirius muttered.

""Muggles don't know this but parrot feathers can be used in some potions," James explained.

"I know," Sirius sighed. "I know." He got up. "Best get this over with. Not being able to use magic for detentions, it's going to take me all night to catch those bloody things."

"Good luck," James muttered as Sirius left.

Even before he entered the barn, he could hear a constant chatter of garbled messages. He opened the door.

"'Ello…?"

"Um hi," Sirius felt real stupid talking to the bird. "Come here." He reached out his hand for the nearest parrot.

Basically from then on it was _Peck! Peck! Peck! _& **"YOW! OUCH! OW!" **as Sirius tried to catch the dozen or so parrots & lock them in the three big cages. There were small love-bird type parrots. There were two cockatoos, several macaws & one toucan.

"I wonder how Sirius is doing?" James asked no one in particular as he laid aside a library book.

"I HATE parrots!" a voice sounded suddenly behind him, making James jump.

James looked around & saw Sirius. He had been pecked mercilessly. There were peck marks on his arms & several drops of blood on his face. "Had fun?" James snickered. Sirius only glared at him. "Let's get you cleaned up & then head for the dorms."

"That toucan!" Sirius scowled before detailing with his hands just how he thought he should deal with that bird. "I'm gonna WRING his head from his neck. I'll pull out his feathers one by one. Why I'll-"

"0 Sirius. 12 parrots. Round 1-12!" James teased.

"Oh shut up!" Sirius snarled but James only laughed harder as Peter & Remus couldn't help but join in. They reached the Portrait & entered. "The macaws were bad too." Sirius added.

"They liked you," James said. "Liked how you tasted." He continued, earning a smack. "Oh come on, parrots aren't that bad. They're birds, how bad can they be?"

"Very!" Sirius grumbled.

"OK," James sighed, tossing himself onto the couch. "Hey Lily," he noticed the red-haired girl staring blankly into the fire. " Lily? Something wrong?" Lily just shrugged. James sighed. Talking to Lily Evans was hard. "Did someone else pass out?" he asked slowly.

"No," Lily finally answered. "But I'm not worried about that. I just wonder if we'll ever wake them up again."

"Oh that'll happen soon enough," James assured. "Give Pomfrey & Cross time to figure that out. Their first duty was to take care of us still standing. Now that's done. They can work on the others now."

"Well I hope they figure it out soon," Lily said. "I know that several of the students who took that potion took it too late. The hospital wing better make room for more."

"It'll be OK, Lily," James said.

"Just focus on Christmas for now," Sirius added. Lily turned around & glared at him before stomping off up the girls' staircase. "What?" Sirius muttered as James glared at him to.

"Now was not the time to bring up something like that," James snapped. "One of her friends is lying in the hospital wing remember? It's not going to be as good a Christmas for Lily."

"Fine," Sirius held up his hands. "Fine, I'm sorry."

"Tell that to Lily," James ordered as he headed upstairs with Peter close behind.

"Sheesh," Sirius muttered. "Excuse me for trying to lighten the mood."

"At least you tried," Remus tried to cheer him up. "But you should of thought of Alice first before saying that."

"I got it," Sirius said. "No need to rub it in." He stood up as Remus shrugged. "Those birds wore me out. I'm going to bed. What about you?"

"I'll stay with _Nuit_ (Night) a bit," Remus said. He was soon the only one left in the common room apart from his owl. Remus stretched out along the sofa, watching Nightstalker peck open a fiery ember. For some reason, the sparks seemed to come right for him, exploding over his face. Remus yelped & threw his arms over his head for protection.

"_Vous ne devriez pas faire cela a moi, Remy!" _("You shouldn't of done that to me, Remy!") an oddly familiar voice snarled at him.

Remus tried shaking the sparks & ashes off him but couldn't quite see clearly._"Qui est la?"_ ("Who's there?")

A somewhat boyish laugh. _"Ne savez-vous pas?"_ ("Don't you know?")

"Go away wolf." Remus managed to shake the sparks off at last & glanced around. He just barely saw the back of someone disappear up the stairs. It was the same student he had been catching glimpses over & over again since returning to Hogwarts. Remus whined softly & sniffed the air but all he could pick up were the fading trails of his pack. He stuck to them like glue & hurried upstairs, not wanting to be alone again.

Remus didn't mention the incident to anyone but stayed close to James, Peter & Sirius. He was beginning to wonder why he had yet to collapse like everyone else…or was what he was seeing actually not a hallucination, but real? Or perhaps it was his wolf's fault that he was still awake & all Remus needed to do was find something to knock the thing out as well as himself.

"Remus!" A loud whisper brought him back. "Didn't you hear me?" Remus just shrugged, making Sirius sigh. "I asked for your inkwell. Mine's empty."

Remus shoved it over & tried to focus on his parchment. They were in the middle of a pop quiz for the Dark Arts class. A quick glance around told him that he was falling behind as other students had already started rolling up their own parchments. Remus hurriedly scribbled off the last few answers.

Professor Johnson barely had time to collect them all before Frank Longbottom asked, "Sir, what if it's zombies or something like that?" The Professor turned to look at him while other students laid aside their work, clearly along the same line of thought. "I mean," Frank went on. "Everyone sees someone they know to be dead before passing out. Could it be that maybe some dark wizard is using undead souls to attack Hogwarts?"

"An interesting idea, Mr. Longbottom," Johnson agreed. "We ourselves have thought maybe Voldemort is behind this. A few Aurors are looking into it right now & we do know that what ever this is does indeed involve undead magic for sure; though, I wouldn't go so far to say it's zombies. No one here has actually seen them moping about."

"It seems to be mind work," said Molly. "Maybe the undead monsters have somehow learned to be telepathic & are just hiding somewhere."

"It would be very hard to teach such monsters anything," Professor Johnson said. "It's more likely you'd get turned before then."

"Turned?" several students gaped at once.

"Any dark creature that was once human has the power to turn you into one of them," Johnson explained. "You are bitten by either a Vampire or a Werewolf & what happens to you? Provided you survive their initial attack of course. You become one yourself. The Zombie & it's water-based cousin for those who have died & are turned in water, the Inferi, were once alive & human as well but a single bite from them will kill you right away & then make you come back as one of them."

"What about Dementors?" Severus asked. "They're human-shaped."

"Shaped yes," Johnson agreed. "But they were never human. The same with the Lethifolds. Both are very dangerous animals but still animals none the less. You can never turn into a Dementor or a Lethifold."

"So if it is undead souls that are doing this," Sirius began. "all we need to do is go put to rest everyone's hallucinations."

"If it is the undead then yes," Johnson said. "But we don't know what's causing this; not yet, anyway. Once the Aurors have found something, they will let us know. The undead have not been ruled out. Actually, it is the main topic in the Order right now & you all are probably right with this."

"So long as it'll wake up everyone here," Sirius muttered, glancing over at Remus & noticed that he was looking rather pale. "You alright?" Sirius asked but only received a slight nod.

"That is one thing we're working on endlessly," Johnson sighed. "Now before you all go, just a reminder that for those who are heading home for Christmas vacation must sign now or else you can't leave school property. The form is on the front table in the Great Hall. The Headmaster will be picking it up this evening."

The Marauders had no plans to go anywhere & so headed for Gryfindor Tower instead. Once out of class, Remus dropped back, letting James & Peter go on far ahead. Sirius, however, quickly noticed who was missing & headed back to find him.

"Coming?" Sirius pushed Remus forward, trying to make him walk faster.

"I suppose so."

"Come on, what's wrong with you?" Sirius demanded. "You've been moping about all a day. Zombies move more."

"Do you think it's the undead that's doing this?" Remus asked.

"Of course," Sirius answered. "Can't you tell? Professor Johnson sure was worried when we were all talking back there. They all are."

"That's what I thought," Remus sighed. "What if they're trapped in the graves, trying to get out?"

"Let's hope they don't get out," Sirius declared.

"But I mean, if these hallucinations are actually communications," Remus paused for a moment. "Like…a call for help for us to put them to rest again?"

"…Maybe…" Sirius shrugged. "But if they're trapped in their graves, then the graves are opened to put them to rest again, then they can easily jump out & attack everyone physically. It's probably just a trap to get us to come."

"I-I don't…think so," Remus stated stubbornly.

"Come on Remus," Sirius groaned. "Once undead, they're no longer a part of humanity. They're just Dark monstrosities."

"That's because no one takes the time to find out," Remus snapped, moving faster now to get away from Sirius. "What if you had someone from your family trapped like that?"

"I'd say 'Better you then me!' & laugh myself silly," Sirius started laughing right then & there.

"Not if it was Andromeda, you wouldn't!" Remus snapped before running ahead.

"Hey!" Sirius glared. "Why you-! Get back here! What's the matter with you?'!"

Remus stopped & paced back & forth a few times. "I think…I think my brother is buried alive right now…in an undead state."


	10. To The Grave

**(10) To The Grave**

Sirius stood in shock as Remus disappeared. _Brother? Did he just say he had…a brother?'! _He shook himself slightly, trying to recover before hurrying around the corner to find Remus though he was nowhere in sight. Sirius checked through several classrooms on his way to the Tower, taking twice as much time to get to the dorms. Unable to locate his friend, he sighed, slamming the door to the dim Ancient Runes classroom & headed for the dorms, hoping Remus was there. He found James lying full-length on the couch & Peter curled up on the floor with a book but their blond accomplice was not to be seen. Sirius took up residence on the werewolf's favorite chair. "Have either of you seen Remus?"

"Not since Dark Arts," James answered.

"He'll show up soon enough," Peter added. "Curfew's in about 20 minutes & you know how he is for rules."

Sirius laughed. "He'll end up being a Prefect if he keeps that up."

"Probably," Peter shrugged. "Why you want to know where he is anyway? Or are you trying to get the Prefect's Badge?"

"Not a bad idea," Sirius said. "I could make pranks legal!"

"That'd be great!" James agreed.

"Snivelus will never survive," Sirius added. "Anyway, I've just had a rather…interesting…conversation with Remus. He claims he has a brother."

"Wha-really?" James & Peter asked at the same time.

"Sounds like he's dead," Sirius went on. "Wish mine would die…horribly." He stared off into space for a moment or so. "What was I sayi…oh right. Anyway, he just ran off & I can't find him anywhere."

"That's hard to believe," James muttered. "Remus has a brother. Surely he'd of mentioned him before this if he did have one."

"He never mentioned his furry little problem to us did he?" Sirius pointed out. "We had to find that out on our own."

"Furry problems & brothers are two different things," James grumbled.

"Who's got a furry problem?" Molly cut in as she came off the stairs to the girls' side of the dorms.

"Uh…no one!" Peter, James & Sirius yelped at the same time.

"Doesn't sound like it," Molly pressed. "Is one of you missing a pet or something?"

"Well…yeah," Sirius said. "Just Remus got this stupid pet bunny that keeps disappearing."

"It's rather embarrassing," James went on. "It always pops out when we least expect it to. I think some numbskull put an invisibility charm on it." He stood behind Sirius & made a pointing motion over his friend's unsuspecting head while mouthing the words 'That be his fault!'

Molly giggled. "I'm not even going to ask further what you lot got yourselves into this time. I'm going to go meet Lily out in the hall." With that, she stepped through the Portrait & disappeared.

"Wonder what she was laughing at?" Sirius mused, making both James & Peter snicker.

Remus didn't appear in the dorms at all that night. He was not seen again until an hour or so before classes the next day, in the library. James, Peter & Sirius surrounded him.

"Remus where have you been?" Sirius demanded.

"What's this about you having a brother?" Peter added.

"I stayed at the Hospital Wing," Remus stopped, ignoring Peter's question.

"Sirius said something about you mentioning you have a brother," James pressed. "Then you ran off. That's a weird excuse for skipping curfew."

"I didn't skip curfew," Remus began.

"Come on, Rem," James groaned. "I know you don't have a brother. He'd be here in Hogwarts with you."

"Well you're right," Remus said. "I don't have just any brother."

"Then why did you say that you did?" Sirius asked.

"I figured he didn't have a brother." James said.

"Jim!" Sirius shushed him.

"I have a twin brother," Remus went on.

James gaped for a moment before saying, "…I….need to sit down." Not bothering to look before doing so, he went through the motion of sitting down. Sirius quickly summoned a chair before James fell through the air, causing him to flop rather violently onto it just as it ran over.

"Siamese twin actually," Remus continued. "We were joined at the hip." He flipped over the edge of his pants a bit to show a neat surgical scar following around his hip.

"WHOO-HOO!" Sirius whooped, earning a glare from both Remus & the librarian.

"So…so is he…like what Sirius thinks then?" James finally managed to ask. "He's…dead?"

Remus sighed. "Yeah…I'd rather not talk about this anymore."

"Must have been a long time ago before starting school," James said. "'Cause we've never seen him here."

"Yeah it was," Remus said. "Let's get going before we're late for class."

"Aww Rem," James whined. "It's not for another 10 minutes anyway & it's only a half day. Last day before Christmas vacation starts."

"I'll see you there then," Remus muttered, heading out the door as fast as he could without running.

Mostly, classes were practical tests & pop quizzes. It wasn't until Divination that Sirius was able to talk to Remus. "By the way," Sirius glanced around before going on. "Gryfindor now thinks you have a pet bunny-rabbit that can go invisible."

"Ohhh," Remus groaned, letting his shoulders droop. "What did you do this time?"

"Hard to explain," Sirius mumbled. "Never mind, just play along with it."

"I'm not going to pretend I have an invisible rabbit!" Remus all but growled.

"Marauder's business!" Sirius hissed. "So shut up & play along."

"Don't tell me what to do," Remus muttered, throwing himself into the space between James & Peter. Sirius was about to press the matter further but Professor Clarkson entered to start the class, making the situation moot.

Class started as usual, but as was the custom currently going on in Hogwarts, it eventually turned to the problem at hand. Being a Diviner, Clarkson usually got the more intense discussions of all the classes. It wasn't long before someone asked about if it was possible to put any undead soles to rest then perhaps that might stop the invasion of the castle & maybe even wake everyone up again. As usual, the other students quickly picked up on the conversation.

"If it's true," Lily said. "perhaps they should all be moved to a new resting place. Maybe someone's cursed the ground or something."

"That would be a lot of work," Molly groaned.

"I think it's absurd," James said. "Why would anyone want to even use the dead against us? Something isn't quite right."

"You have no idea what they can do," Sirius declared. "Dark Wizards can do just about anything. They learn the actual Dark Arts; we just learn the Defense of them." James rolled his eyes, causing Sirius to glare. "Hey, I'm from an all-Dark family, remember?" he hissed. "You don't think I wouldn't know any better?"

"There's only one way to find out," Remus finally spoke. "Check a grave."

"Well it is all being looked into," Professor Clarkson said. "Though no one knows for sure."

"I thought Diviners know everything," Frank Longbottom said.

"No, Mothers know everything," Professor Clarkson teased, causing everyone to laugh. "& know best as well. Not us Diviners. Any of us claiming otherwise is, as I said before, a fraud. Now we can predict quite easily; a little too easily for some." He suddenly seemed lost in thought, sighing aloud, "Oh that woman!" He suddenly caught himself but it was to late. Several students were looking at him with raised eyebrows & rather amused expressions. "NOT…like that. Just someone I know who's not as good as she claims. Never mind!" He finished quickly, dismissing the class.

Everyone left & hurried off for lunch, seeming to be in better moods now that Christmas vacation was finally here. Most students hurried outside soon afterward to engage in snowball fights or sleighing over the lake, pulled along by unicorns as white as the cold fluff around them. Sirius & James made several hard snowballs & charmed them to follow Severus & Lucius wherever they went, occasionally knocking them around their heads. It wasn't until the Head Boy & Head Girl came out after dark to shoo everyone inside where their respective Prefects stood glaring & ready to take them into the dorms. Apparently curfew started a long time ago.

Grumbling, the Marauders spread themselves out in front of the fire. Remus allowed Nightstalker to perch on the arm of the chair while he watched James & Sirius squabble for couch space as Peter just flopped onto the floor.

"I like being outside at nighttime in winter," Sirius grumbled. "Another thing to do whenever one of us gets to be Prefect! I don't see why we need curfew during the holidays."

"That's coming up next year isn't it?" James asked. "All 5th Years get a chance at becoming the next Prefect Girl or Boy of their House while the eight 7th Year Prefects race to be the next Head Boy or Girl."

"I wonder who'll get it for Gryfindor?" Sirius went on. "Maybe me & the prettiest girl in Gryfindor! We could do lots of…patrolling the grounds."

"Sirius!" James scoffed. "Lily is the prettiest girl & she's mine so hands off."

"Alright, the 2nd-prettiest girl then!" Sirius grumbled. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic," James glared. "Besides, I thought you were with Rachelle?"

"I'm not 'with' anyone," Sirius declared. "I like Rachelle just fine. But unlike YOU, I'm not stuck on one girl all the time. I'm keeping my options open."

James snorted. "Too bad we can't go out on the roof to watch girls. It's to slippery."

"I know," Sirius sighed. "First thing in the spring! Tell them we're looking for robins if we get caught."

"I'm getting onto the Hogwarts Express. Tonight. Now!"

James, Peter & Sirius looked around, wondering who said that & soon stared at Remus. "You're…what?"

"I'm stowing away on it." Remus got up & pulled his coat on again.

"You're….you're nuts!" Sirius watched Remus in disbelief, thinking this might be a prank. _Payback time for the bunny!_

"I'm going to see Rom."

"Who's that?" asked Peter.

"My brother, Romulus."

"I thought you said he was dead?" James reminded him.

"Right now, I think he's undead."

"You've lost it," James said. "like you ever had it in the first place. Come on, Remus! Don't be stupid. You didn't even sign to leave school property."

Remus sighed. "All this talk about the undead. Sirius said that the Professors know more then what they're saying."

"So?" James, Peter & Sirius asked at the same time.

"Do you remember the first day we were here this year?" Remus asked. "I had seen someone at the Slytherin Table who shouldn't of been there."

"I remember that," Sirius nodded. "You were actually pointing at some girl there."

"No I wasn't," Remus explained. "Ever since then, he's been following me around, switching Houses to get at me & he threw fire at me the other night. At first, I thought I was having hallucinations as well but if so, why have I not collapsed yet especially since I've been seeing Rom since day 1, literally? There's more going on here then what everyone cares to know. "

"What do you intend on doing about it?" James asked.

"I'm going home & put him back to rest," Remus stated simply. "I don't want him bothering me again. Right now, he's the exact opposite of what he was in life."

"I KNEW you were seeing things," Sirius declared. "Why do you think you're still awake then?"

"…Who knows…?" Remus evaded the question. He had a rather good idea; his wolf was keeping him up, making him wonder if he would be the only one awake because of it. Maybe it was his duty to free everyone of the curse that had fallen upon them as his Lycanthropy, so far, seemed to make him immune. What better place to start then with his own brother? Once that was out of the way he could take care of the others. But of course, he couldn't exactly explain that to his friends without mentioning the other little curse he had to deal with every Full Moon.

"You must have some idea?" Sirius pressed.

"Well I have one," Remus wondered what he could make up on the spot. He had to get to the train & Sirius yet again had managed to mess everything up. "I still say these 'hallucinations' are calls for help so I'm going to go help Rom. I'm probably still awake maybe because of how I'm related to Rom, unlike you others. It's always been said that multi-children are different then single siblings; plus Rom & I shared the same flesh so we're not ordinary twins. So, I'll go put Rom to rest & spare myself any more of this & I probably won't ever suffer the same fate as those in the Hospital Wing."

"Good theory," Sirius said, looking at James. He waited for Remus to move away towards the Portrait before whispering. "Can't get more blond than that can he?"

"I heard that, Black!"

"Don't look at me Sirius," James held up his hands. "Remus, wait up. We're coming with you!"

"We are?" Peter stared at him.

"We are!" James hurried upstairs to grab a winter coat.

"Bring 50 Galleons each if you do come!" Remus ordered before exiting the dorms.

Early next morning found the Marauders aboard as stowaways on the Hogwarts Express among the baggage in the last car.

"You do realise we're likely to be expelled if we get caught."

_Sirius et sa grande grosse bouche ! Je veux dire, honnêtement, le regard à ses lèvres. Oh bien, me rendent une fille heureux supposent._ (_Sirius & his big fat mouth! I mean, honestly, look at his lips. Oh well, make a girl happy I suppose.) _"Really now?" Remus spoke aloud in a rather sarcastic voice. "So why don't you kindly shut up so no one will hear you?"

"Remus honestly!" Sirius scowled. "The way you breathe sometimes…it can be heard a mile away!"

"So can your insults toward each other by the way," James shushed them both. Remus & Sirius resorted to quietly staring each other down for a while until the train's sudden jerk into moving made them all topple over.

"This is the single most stupidest idea I've ever heard of!" James snapped after he had righted himself. "Without signing, we'll be dead meat."

"Ohhh not you, too," Remus rolled his eyes. "One more sound from any of you & I'm using the Silencio. You guys didn't have to do this you know."

"Marauders stick together," said Peter.

"_Silencio Trois_!" Remus enjoyed the silent glares he got from the three of them for the next hour or so until it wore off. He threatened to cast it again but his pack decided to behave for once. Remus watched the door, checking through the little window into the caboose-passenger car ahead. He could see several students walking through the hall from one seat to another, visiting each other. They all looked rather eager for Christmas the next day. He felt a tap on his shoulder & turned to see Sirius who had something to say.

"Hurry up with it," Remus ordered.

"I was just wondering, why do you want us all to be quiet?"

"Two reasons," Remus began. "One, the driver can listen in on any of the cars if he so chooses & if he hears someone in the baggage car, we're finished. Two, the noise you lot make on your best days could probably heard from the engine car regardless of the P.A. system."

Sirius glared as he stepped back besides James & sat down on a suitcase. "You can be very bossy sometimes, Remus."

"Do you want me to silence you again? _Non? _Then be quiet!"

Sirius scowled & waited for Remus to turn back to watching the door before pulling out a scrap of parchment from his pocket. He fished around in the suitcase for a quill & wrote 'I rest my case!' on it & passed it to James.

James snatched the quill from Sirius & began writing before passing it back. 'Sorry but I agree with Remus. Shut UP! You deserve to be silenced.' Sirius tossed the quill back where it belonged, slammed the case shut ("SHHH!" Remus, Peter & James hushed at the same time.) & sat down with his arms crossed & a pouting face. Sirius often resorted to babyishness at such times.

Remus was glad when they could finally get off the train. He made sure everyone else was off before they disembarked themselves. The train had actually started to move again by the time they were all off.

"Now what, genius?" Sirius snarled as soon as he was sure they could all talk.

"Well, we can't take the Knight Bus," Remus said. "in case they ask for our permission forms for leaving school for vacation."

"So, we're going to walk to France from London, England?"

"Now who's being stupid?" Remus glared at Sirius. "We'll just take the muggle bus instead."

"They have a Knight Bus too?" James asked.

"Yeah," Remus said. "Only, they call it Greyhound. Same idea though."

"Greyhound?" Sirius repeated. "We're going to ride dogs to your house?"

Remus walked off, rolling his eyes & muttering under breath, "& they call ME blond! HA! Pitiful…Now, you lot have those 50 Galleons each I asked for? If not, you'll have to stay here." Annoyed, the three of them handed over 150 Galleons.

"That's mostly Sirius's money," James said.

"So find a way to pay your shares back," Remus grumbled.

"Our shares?" James stared at him. "We just gave it all to you!"

"_Non!"_ Remus snapped. "I've got my own 'share' if you will. This is a round trip ticket good for a year. My parents finally decided I was old enough & let me come on my own." He waved his ticket in front of their faces. "Unless you think this ride is free?" Remus finally got it through their heads what was going on. He sighed dejectedly as he pointed his wand at the Galleons, turning it into muggle money before handing back the portions. "There. Remember, round tickets not one way. Now let's get going." He led the way off the Platform into the muggle world, muttering "Pureblood wizards these days I dunno…" under breath. Once they had their tickets, he stalked towards the nearest unfortunate Greyhound that happened to be parked in his way.

"Uh…Remus?" Sirius asked. "This ticket isn't round; it's rectangular."

_La barbe de Merlin de baise!_ _(F""" Merlin's beard!)_ Remus bashed his forehead on the Greyhound's front several times before going around to the door.

It wasn't until late Christmas Eve that they reached Remus's hometown. The snow lay thick & helped illuminate the way towards the town cemetery. Remus had finally stopped bossing them around & as they came closer to their destination, he was actually somber. He hurried ahead down the pathways between the rows of headstones casting eerie-shaped shadows over the snow, stopping at last at Romulus.

Sirius started to pick up the pace with the other two, but James held him back. "Give him a minute." They & Peter took their time to catch up. Once there, James suddenly wondered, "What exactly are we doing & how?"

"Well we have to…actually we…" Remus stammered. "We can't use magic! We're under-age & the Ministry Of Magic will find us. On the train & on Platform 9 & 3/4 it's OK because of all the magic surrounding it. The Ministry will take forever to find out what belongs to the train or Platform & what belongs to the students but we can't do it in a wide open area with no other magical force to mask us."

"So what are you so petrified for then?" James asked.

"We have to do this the long way," Remus said quickly.

"Do what?" Sirius demanded, having an odd feeling.

"Well, what does one usually do when they have to put a trapped undead to rest?"

"Remus if you're saying what I think you're saying," Sirius began.

"What does he mean?" Peter asked.

"Dig the grave open to get to Romulus, that's what he means," Sirius informed him. "Isn't that right, Remus?"

"Sirius we have to," Remus said. "I have to."

"Remus that's going too far," Sirius tried to reason with him. "You're talking about…desecrating your own brother! Not that I'd mind doing that to mine-"

"I am not!" Remus shouted at him. "Leaving him like this would be doing that. Besides, we'll put it all back anyway. Not like we're breaking anything."

"Ohh…" Sirius groaned. "I'll go stand watch."

"Sirius, are you actually letting him do this?" James stared at him.

"He needs it & besides what if does work?" Sirius went on. "Who knows, he'll probably manage to save us all & be considered the Hero Of Hogwarts someday."

James sighed. "Alright Remus, how do we do this?"

"Everything we need is in the shed back there." Remus pointed to the edge of the cemetery where several willows surrounded a building. "It's numerically locked but I know the code."

They followed Remus to get their own shovels & for the next few hours, James, Remus & Peter worked their way down to Romulus. It wasn't until around one in the morning that Peter's shovel made a dull thud, making him freeze as he realised he was just a few inches away from Romulus Lupin.

"Uh…Remus…I…" Peter began.

"I heard."

"Now what?" James asked.

"Before we do anything more, pass me that rake handle I brought along." Peter lifted James up to get the pole & soon there was another dull thud as it landed the length of the casket.

"What are you going to do with that?" Peter asked as James lay on his stomach at the edge above & looked in.

"Well, see this end?" Remus lifted up the end that would screw into the rake head. "I just need to make it a bit more pointed." He pulled out a knife that he had found on a shelf in the shed & whittled it down. "Now I can take care of him."

"Remus wait a minute."

"What now Jim?" Remus didn't bother to hide the annoyance in his voice. He wanted to get this over with.

"Forgive me for asking but how long ago was this?"

Remus sighed. "Two weeks before our 11th birthday. Why?"

"That's over four years ago."

"James your point?"

"Point is," James paused before going on. "He…probably won't look…right. If you know what I mean?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Remus snapped. "Mama is a witch. We had him magically preserved."

"Oh," James shifted uncomfortably before muttering, "Sorry!"

"Uh- huh," Remus shrugged.

"Mind if I asked what happened?"

Remus tried not to growl. "Simple enough, he was murdered & we never found who did it. Case closed. Peter get off. I can't open this with you here too." He helped Peter jump up before spreading his own weight on either side.

After a brief hesitation, Remus opened the casket. He had the spear ready & eyed the figure lying inside, ready & waiting for it to move but after a moment it hit him. Hard. Romulus was untouched. Everyone was wrong about undead at fault for the castle.

_Remus, ce qui vous ont fait? (Remus, what have you done?)_

_Ferme-la, loup. J'essaye de penser! (Shut up, wolf. I'm trying to think!)_

It took time for it to sink in & for once in his life, Remus regretted not listening to Sirius. He checked Romulus over. Everything was the same as the day they buried him except for the fact that Romulus seemed a lot smaller than what Remus remembered.

"Remus?" James's voice brought him back to reality…what was left of it.

"We were wrong!" Remus looked up at him & Peter. "All wrong! It's not the undead; it's something else. Oh what have I done?"

"Remus, close it & get up here!" James & Peter both pulled him up. "Peter, go get Sirius. We have to put this back exactly before leaving & pray to Merlin it snows & covers our tracks."

Pushing the grave back together was easier then digging it apart but it still took a while even with Sirius's help. Remus had a horrified expression on his face the whole time & never spoke a word. He led them quietly back the way they had come once they were done, pausing once or twice to look back & see how well they had redone the grave. Apart from the dirty snow over the top…Remus shuddered & hoped it would snow. He quickened his pace back towards the Greyhound.

"What or whoever is taking over the castle is coming from some other source," Sirius said.

"I knew something was off," James shrugged. "I bet you anything it's from inside the castle."

"Still doesn't explain why Remus is still walking around, unless," Sirius lowered his voice, an amazing feat for him. "It's that mutt inside him that keeps him awake."

"Maybe…or," James also lowered his voice, another amazing feat accomplished. "What if…it's him all along? Dark creature…Dark Magic…you know?"

"Don't ever say that again!"

"I won't," James agreed. "I don't like to think of Remus like that, even if he is a dog."

"Wolf!"

"Canine!" James grumbled. "Whatever! But I can't stop that thought from staying in the back of my mind." He leaned against a pillar holding up the roof at the station. "Change of subject; here he comes."

"Hey look, Remus," Sirius pointed out towards the sky. "It's starting to snow." Remus only nodded as he led them aboard, hardly noticing the large flakes drifting down.

The Greyhound drove on through most of Christmas Day & by 11pm, they had again jumped into the baggage car at the end of the train just as it was pulling out for it's nighttime round. They arrived at Hogwarts late afternoon the next day & thought they were safe at last.

"Well well if it isn't the Adventurous Four!"

Four necks all but snapped as James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew & Remus Lupin whipped shocked faces around only to find Professor Snape waiting for them, sitting on the bench in the station.


	11. Letters Of Shame & Sorrow

**(11) Letters Of Shame & Sorrow**

"When it was noticed you four were gone," Professor Snape went on. "Professor Dumbledore checked the list twice for your names, in case we missed the fact that you might have signed off. But your names were not on that list. Follow me!" He led the way back to the castle & through the Transfiguration classroom to the back where Dumbledore sat in his office, glaring.

"So…" Dumbledore left it open for conversation. He continued to glare at the boys though all he could see was black, messy-brown, light brown & blond heads of hair as they pointedly stared at the floor. "You do not wish to explain yourselves?" Still no answer.

"Well?" Professor Snape prompted.

"It was…something we had to do."

"What was that?" Snape demanded. "Mr. Black?"

"It was something we had to do."

"And what was that?" Dumbledore asked. The four heads again stared at the ground & shook a no. The old wizard sighed. "Very well, we'll talk later. For now, here is something I have to do. You will no longer enjoy the holidays like the other students. Detention for all of you through-out this vacation. Be thankful I don't expel you & I only don't because I can see that whatever happened was important to you. But still, that is no excuse for leaving without permission or even informing anyone & worrying the whole school."

"Minus the Slytherins," Sirius muttered.

"Enough!" Dumbledore ordered. "Now return to your dorms. Your detentions start tomorrow."

The four of them slowly trudged back the way they had come. Just before exiting the classroom Sirius mentioned, "So long as I don't have to deal with parrots again. They're mean despicable creatures! I'll kill them if I have to deal with another parrot as long as I live."

"We'll see," was all that Dumbledore said.

Remus stormed into the common room & up the stairs away from questioning eyes. "I can't believe what we've done!" he exclaimed once the four of them had reached the safety of their own dorm rooms. Remus yanked off his coat & slammed it on his bed.

"At least we found out it's not the undead," Sirius said. "We have to let them know somehow."

"Let them all know what I did?" Remus gasped, still horrified at the mere thought of what happened.

"Hey, we all did that," Sirius tried comforting him. "Even me. I stood on watch & then helped you replace everything."

"We didn't do it very well," Remus worried, sitting down next to his coat, shaking.

"It was snowing pretty heavily as we left," Peter said. "I'm sure it'll all be covered by now."

"I hope so." Remus curled up in a ball on his bed & buried his face in his hands. "I'll never forget this as long as I live."

"You felt you needed to do this. Besides," James added. "Who knew you were once that small?"

"JAMES POTTER!" Remus glared. James tried hiding a smirk. "Oh shut up! I'm sure we were all that small once…& smaller."

"I wonder what it is then," Sirius interrupted before Remus could attempt to attack James. "It's not the undead. Maybe Jim is right. It's from inside. From one of us here. We have to let them know they're looking in the wrong place."

"I don't want anyone to know what I've done," Remus reminded him, almost pleading. "If Mama & Papa get wind of it…I might as well dig a grave again. For myself."

"Remus, if we don't tell anyone, we could all be stuck like this forever," James said. "& it would be your fault. Now is that what you want? What we did may have been a bad thing normally, but considering what we found out…I don't think we have much choice in the matter."

Remus sighed & stared out the window. The snow was falling heavily now, almost like a blizzard. "I wish we had never left."

"Well, we did try to stop you," James began.

"Try harder next time!" Remus snapped.

"If it was anyone else I would," James defended. "But with you, if we try anything you'll bite our heads off. You can be pretty damned annoying & bossy when you want to be. Most of the time it's better to shut up & go along with you."

"I am not," Remus crossed his arms & glared. "I take that as an insult!"

"Funny enough, that's what it was intended for," James snapped.

"Oh!" Remus pressed his hand to his heart. "You wound me. How dare you!"

Sirius started laughing. "Face it Remy, you know he's right."

"Mutiny!" Remus snarled. "Besides, if I recall correctly, I didn't ask any of you to come. You did that on your own."

"Mmmm," Sirius groaned. "Good point."

"Yes it is," Remus grumbled.

"If we didn't go," James added. "You'd probably still be out there by yourself, digging your way down." Remus just grumbled to himself. "Oh don't act like a baby. Sirius is not a good role model." ("OI!" Sirius pouted.) Remus firmly kept his eyes on his lap until the yellowish glaze left his vision.

"Finally!" Sirius laughed. "The mighty Lupin has fallen."

"Ohhh," Remus groaned. "You lot are too much. I'll get up again, don't you worry!"

"I worry," James muttered. "So, what are we going to do about this?"

"You're asking my opinion?" Remus asked.

"Might as well get it over with before you go all bossy on us," James explained, earning a whack to his face with a pillow Remus threw at him.

"I want that back by the way," Remus pointed at the pillow on the floor. Glaring, James straightened his glasses before he threw it back. "_Merci!"_("Thank you!")

"Mercy? Ohh ho ho. I'll teach you the TRUE meaning of the word 'mercy', Lupin!" James threatened. "Someday."

Remus just shrugged. "Anyway, let's not say anything right now. I need to think about this. I'm still so infuriated with myself."

"Alright," Sirius agreed. "Just don't take too long before we all end up sleeping with no one left to wake us."

They decided not to talk of it again, letting Remus figure it out himself. Not one of them could bring themselves to even believe what they had done; though, no one felt as Remus did. His main worry was how his parents would react if they found out. The only thing that kept them going was the fact that they…& they alone for the time being… had found out it was something other than the undead. On the other hand, this brought them all back to square one with the question of 'What was really going on at Hogwarts?'

The next morning, four owls landed in front of each of them, with their summons for detention. James, Peter, Sirius & Remus groaned, wishing they could go outside & bother the Slytherins instead. Oddly enough, their first detention was about the Slytherins. They had to redo the holiday decorations in the old dungeons where the Slytherin Hall was located that Peeves the Poltergeist had thrown down.

"I don't believe this!" Sirius grumbled.

"At least it isn't parrots," James said.

Sirius just shrugged, throwing a gold & silver banner haphazardly around a random statue of armor before glancing around. He located Remus far ahead, working on a fallen Christmas tree & noticed that the werewolf was being rather picky & orderly as usual & sighed. Remus would probably have pups if something was out of place. It was his pet peeve. _Speaking of pups…_"James, with these detentions, how are we supposed to get on with our Secret Power?"

Horrified, James checked to make sure Remus wasn't near them before relaxing. "We'll just have to do that later. They can't keep us in detention 24/7."

"Sometimes I wonder about that," Sirius said. "But the sooner we get back to it the better. We can start on actually trying to transform now that we've gone through all those potions & can do simple spells silently."

"I know," James checked for Remus again. "I'm anxious to see what we can turn into."

"It's too bad Remus was watching that whole time on the train," Sirius went on. "We could of unhexed ourselves."

"I can't reverse Silencio," James pouted. "Not without actually speaking the incantation for it."

"I can & I think Peter can too."

Finished with re-decorating the Slytherin Hall, well, once Remus had redone the gold & silver banner around the armor to his own liking making Sirius snap at him to 'Get moving already!', they drifted towards the doors to go outside.

"Finished?" Dumbledore met them next to the four large hourglasses that kept the House points logged. "Good. Here's your next assignment." The four of them groaned as they read the note.

_Time to re-pot the Christmas poinsettias. Some animals got into Greenhouse 5 & knocked them all over._

_Signed: Professor Chao _

"Aw man I HATE gardening!" Sirius complained.

"Would you rather do the parrot cages?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle in his eye rather annoying to Sirius.

"Come on you lot," Sirius addressed the others, ignoring Dumbledore's question. "I'll race you to the greenhouses."

So it was for the next few days, the four of them basically forced to run errands for all the Professors. They soon became the laughing stock of Slytherin as the punishment wore on, often getting called 'Professor's Slaves.' James & Sirius threatened to retaliate but Remus held them back, not wanting their detention to be expanded beyond the holidays.

"I'm sore!" Peter complained one evening after they had done another day's work. "We didn't do anything strenuous. I wonder what causing it?"

"Who knows?" James muttered, body colliding with bed with a loud squeak of the posts.

"Actually we did," Remus said. "We moved 6 by 8 by 3 feet of dirt twice all in one night. I knew the pain would kick in sooner or later."

"Ohhh," Sirius shuddered, his head hitting his pillow hard, making his shoulder-length richly black hair splay out around his head. "I don't want to move ever again."

"Here's our next assignment," Remus read off the note. "Put down the fresh pile of hay for the Thestrals. Professor Clarkson."

Sirius just groaned. "Those things can go ahead & starve for all I care."

"Hey aren't those the Black Pegasi that you claim to see, Remy?" James asked, earning a glare.

"I don't claim anything," Remus retorted. "I really DO see them…&…you will too now, come to think of it."

"What?" James mumbled into his pillow.

"You & Peter were watching when I opened the casket," Remus explained. "You both saw Rom; therefore, you both saw death. So now you should be able to see Thestrals."

"What about me?" Sirius asked, almost pouting. "I was there to."

"Not around Rom when I opened it," Remus said. "You were off standing guard somewhere. Did you actually see Rom?"

"No, but I saw his casket," Sirius went on. "Shiny mahogany box. Isn't that enough?"

"It's just wood, metal & polish, Siri. Nothing dead about that; the now dead trees used to make it doesn't count."

"Oh well…" Sirius sighed.

"Come on," Remus headed for the stairs. "Let's do this now. It's still early."

"If we don't, what'll you do about it?" Sirius threatened.

"I'll tell Professor Clarkson that you aren't listening to him & had refused to follow orders in taking care of the Thestrals. It would probably make him assign more detention for you three & maybe even get me off the hook or at least a lighter sentence."

Sirius jumped off his bed, punched his pillow & stalked towards Remus. "Why you-! ARGH! I could kill you sometimes you realize?" He threatened before storming downstairs, tossing his hair over his shoulders with a 'Hmpf!' James & Peter followed, rolling their eyes as Remus snickered at them.

Remus followed closely behind, keeping the three of them in his sight at all times (much to their deepest grievances), making sure they didn't try to run off. Once outside, Remus looked around to find a mother & her twin foals near the edge of the Forbidden Forrest. "Jim, Peter, see those animals over there?"

They looked to where he was pointing. "Oh good Merlin!" James yelped. "What the heck are those…things?" He stared at the rather gruesome sight. Skeletal horses with bits of flesh covered in black fur draped over their bones. The mother's large bat-like wings stretched from either side, half covering her foals while she looked around warily with dead white eyes from her dragon-like head.

"That's a Thestral family, Jim," Remus stated, moving towards the barn.

"I can't see them!" Sirius muttered, staring as hard as he could in their direction.

"Ok, I like canines," James gulped. "I don't like equines anymore though. Canines are better. So…so there!"

Remus only laughed as Peter gulped, "We fed those things last year right Remy? They are rather an eye-sore aren't they…"

"Look guys don't worry," Remus said. "They only eat carcasses & check out anything with the scent of blood. A bit like sharks if you will. They might try to bite but they're no more dangerous than the next horse."

"Why are we feeding meat-eaters hay?" Sirius asked.

"It's winter & there's not as much scavenging to do now that most animals are either gone or hibernating," Remus explained. "Besides, most meat-eaters eat grass to. Like bears & other such animals."

"Let's just get this over with," James muttered. "& get back inside. Bears will attack humans if they're hungry & there's not enough berries or salmon around. I'm sure these horses will, too."

"Whatever," Remus sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Scardy-cat!" he teased. To call it a snowball would be an understatement. It was more of a very hard ice-ball that loudly thwacked Remus over his head. _"OW! Dans l'intéret de Merlin, Potter!" ("OW! For Merlin's sake, Potter!")_

It took them about two hours to lay down the hay. They returned to their dorms more soar than ever & were asleep almost before hitting the pillow. The next morning, James, Sirius & Peter got up late. They had missed breakfast but lunch wasn't far away. Only Remus seemed to have been up on time as he was nowhere in sight.

Rubbing his shoulder, Sirius trudged downstairs. "Let's not leave the dorms this time & if you see any owls coming…hide." James & Peter nodded in agreement. "We can send Remus out to get some lunch for us. He can borrow your cloak. Make him work for us for a change." The others laughed at that as they stepped off the stairs into the common room.

"There he is," James pointed across the common room to the large stained window. He hurried over. "Remus, can you sneak out with my cloak & get some food?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Maybe you're not, but we are," James began before a letter was thrust into his face. "Oh no. I'm NOT reading it. We're going to hide from detention for today."

"It's from my parents…"

James went silent for a moment. _Uh-oh! Better not be about us._ He took the letter & tried to read. It was in French, but James was able to pick out enough words to let him know what it was about. One word was all he needed & it was a name: Romulus. "Oh Remus! Do they know it was us?"

"No," Remus sighed. "It just says that they had gone to visit him & noticed that the area was…I hate saying the word. Vandalized! That's what Mama used to describe it. I can't believe we…that we actually…she said it was vandalized! Didn't snow enough over there, I guess. Papa is going to investigate it further."

"Wha-how?" Sirius yelped. "They can't track it to us, can they?"

Remus turned away from the window to look at him. "Oh, I hope not!"

"They better not!" James exclaimed.

"It gets better," Remus said.

"How?" Sirius asked.

"Guess what?" Remus went on. "Rom is going to be dug up again!" Peter, James & Sirius could only stare. "Mama wants to see if….'whoever did this'…robbed his body or something. Dug up twice in the same week! I can't…I don't beli…James, stop me before I do something stupid."

"What?"

"I've half a mind to just write her & tell her he's fine. It's just us."

"Sirius, help me bind his hands!" James said. "Please don't, Remus. There's a chance they won't find out who did it. I don't want to think of what'll happen to us."

"When are they doing this again?" Sirius asked.

"Day after New Year's," answered Remus. "after tomorrow actually. They don't want Rom bothered twice during the holidays."

"Ok," Sirius sighed. "Ok, just…just relax. They don't know it's us & probably never will. Just let it pass."

"I'll try," said Remus. "I'm going to go see Dumbledore. What do you want for food?"

"Later," the three of them said at the same time.

"What are you going to see Dumbledore about?" asked Sirius.

"About the undead," Remus said as he headed for the Portrait. "Guys, I'd rather do this on my own this time OK?" he added before leaving, when he noticed the others were about to follow.

Remus slowly made his way to Dumbledore's office, pointedly taking the long way so he could think about how to explain himself. He was sorry to see the door to Transfiguration a lot sooner then he had planned. Remus sighed & waited for several minutes before entering. He sat down across the desk from Dumbledore & found that all he could do was fidget in his seat.

"Yes?" Dumbledore asked after a few minutes passed with no result. He pushed some lemon sherbet over. "Eat up then talk."

Remus wasn't sure if he could eat but did so politely. He finally finished the sherbet & sighed. _"Merci."_ ("Thank you.")

"So," Dumbledore lay back in his chair. "Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Lupin?

"Not unless you can change the past."

"I wouldn't even if I could," Dumbledore said. "The past is good. It teaches us. We learn from all the mistakes we made when we were in the past."

"Well this is a big mistake," Remus said. "Um…I…well…the Aurors…I just know it's not the undead that's attacking this castle."

"Really?" Dumbledore touched his half-moon glasses back up his nose. "And how does a 14 year old barely through his fourth grade seem to have acquired such a vast knowledge?"

"Oh, I…I just did something…really…really…really…" Remus sighed, giving up.

"Really bad?" Dumbledore helped him out.

"_Oui…"_

"Worse then leaving the property without permission I presume," Dumbledore continued.

"Oh definitely!" Remus agreed. Dumbledore waited for him to continue though Remus stayed silent for another few minutes. "If I say," he started again. "Make sure my parents are dead before it gets out to the public."

"I can keep secrets, Mr. Lupin, if that's what you're looking for."

"Um…yes…yes it is." Remus stammered. "Alright…I…undid a grave. That's how I know it's not the undead. The grave belonged to someone from a hallucination but the actual subject was still normally…dead. So…I don't believe the undead are doing this."

"What you did to your brother was no doubt a terrible crime," Dumbledore began.

"I…I…I never said he was Rom!"

"But no doubt you did it to try saving yourself from the fate of the others & possibly help the others here, too," Dumbledore went on, seeming not to have heard. "Sometimes, terrible things must be done for the greater good."

"Have you done something like that?" Remus almost snapped.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I have," Dumbledore began. "Do you remember last year when I got the black letter signed with gold writing?"

"Um…yes actually," Remus said. "You left for the rest of the year."

"Yes," Dumbledore went on. "Letters like that are from the Ministry to alert someone of a K.I.A. family member. It was for my brother, Aberforth…Abes we called him. He was one of our best Aurors."

"You had a brother?'!" Remus exclaimed.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "I have two actually & one sister. Abes was the baby & my sister was the oldest. I'm next in line. But there's more. The reason why I was gone for so long is because I had to track Abes down."

"I thought you said he was killed in action? Dead?" Remus interrupted.

"Killed in action, yes," Dumbledore said. "He died fighting Inferi back into the lake to keep a village safe. Only problem was-"

"He was turned?'!"

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "I had to track him down & kill him properly. My own brother. He had taken several Inferi with him but the remaining few…took him with them. I finished them all off, ending with Abes."

Both were silent as Remus let this all sink in. So, he wasn't the only one who had killed a brother; though at least, Dumbledore had a reason for it. "Do you…see him now?" Remus suddenly asked.

"As a hallucination?" Dumbledore said. "Perhaps…"

"You…you're going to…or did you take the potion?" Remus stammered.

"I have," Dumbledore assured. "We all have; though, it's too late for some."

"You can't go to sleep!" Remus declared.

"Yes I can," Dumbledore said. "Anyone can, including you, Remus. There's only a precious few who'll stay awake because they have taken it on time. Now I might have had it on time, I might not have. No one knows. Same for you. No one is immune."

"Any idea who's doing this?"

"Not any more thanks for your information," Dumbledore said. "I'll let the Aurors know." Remus looked horrified for a moment before Dumbledore went on. "I won't tell them your name or the names of your friends. What matters is that they'll know to watch out for other things."

"Thank you sir," Remus said.

"I know what it's like to have to hurt a brother," Dumbledore assured. "and before you leave, I must warn you, there will be many more black letters coming in soon. Before you graduate, I'm afraid. Now, off you go."

Remus stopped in the kitchens to get some sandwiches for his friends, staying a long time to have his own first while thinking over the latest events. He read over the letter again, worrying about the day after New Year's. Rom was about to be exhumed again & it was entirely his fault. _Why did I ever bother to go in the first place?_ Remus could almost kick himself now. It was already dark by the time he headed back to the dorms

The entrance was so quiet that no one noticed. James sighed & looked up from his book, almost leaping out of his skin when he noticed Remus had in fact, returned & was currently sitting on his chair & staring into the fire.

"Well?" James asked.

"It's like…he already knew in a way," Remus said, pushing a big plate of sandwiches over. "By the way, I know about that black letter he got last year."

"Oh what's that about?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"He warned that there's going to be a whole lot more of them soon," Remus went on. "Probably before we graduate. They're K.I.A. letters, Siri. To let someone know when one of their family has died."

"Oh," Sirius sat back on the couch. "Do you know who died?"

"Just someone from the Dumbledore family, Sirius. Gees!" Remus glared at him. "I don't ask personal questions if I can avoid it."

"OK, ok," Sirius held up his hands. "He might of mentioned it on his own terms is all." Remus just sighed & lay back in his armchair, letting his head go over the top to stare at the ceiling. He was feeling rather tired all of a sudden, probably from all the work they had to do on top of everything.

"I wonder what that meant," James said. "More black letters?"

"Maybe this thing with Voldemort is worse then what they care to tell us," Peter shrugged.

"Oh I wouldn't doubt it," Sirius was quick to agree.

"Well they are talking of war," said James. "That time I was in the kitchens & that lady was there with them."

"Well, I'm glad it's New Year's," Sirius changed the subject. "Our detention time is done. I hope we're allowed to go to the feast tomorrow."

"Probably," James assured. "They wouldn't be wise to start starving us."

"Probably right," Sirius relaxed. "Hey think we should bring him up to bed?" He pointed at Remus who was still lying back on his chair to look at the ceiling. He had fallen asleep by now.

"Yeah," James agreed. "We should try to sleep now that they won't bother us with more detention."

"After this," Sirius started. "we get back at those Slyths!" James laughed as Sirius got up to poke Remus. "Come on, let's get upstairs." He poked at him again but Remus kept on sleeping.

"He must be worn out," James said. "Full Moon just before holidays, then what we did, then all the detentions."

"Yeah I'm tired too here, please!" Sirius shook Remus, trying to wake him. "Let's go now." He poked Remus in his least favorite place, in the ribs & when Remus still didn't wake up after that, a horrible thought crossed Sirius's mind. "J-Jim? I…can't wake…I think he's asleep."

"No? Really?" James said sarcastically. "Of course he is."

"No, I mean…asleep!" Sirius exclaimed.

James's smile left his face to be replaced with one of shock. "You mean…'asleep' asleep?" Sirius nodded. "He can't be! Remus!" James jumped on him, causing the chair to tip back. Sirius barely had time to grab it. Through it all, Remus still slept.

"I'm getting Dr. Cross!" Sirius ran for the Portrait & disappeared.

"OK," James barely registered Sirius's voice as he focused on trying to wake Remus up. "Come on. Don't do this to us. Not now!" He shook Remus hard to no avail, while calling his name.

"Potter, what is going on?"

James looked around to find Lily & Molly on the bottom of the girls' stairs. "It's Remus. He won't wake up!"

"What?" Lily hurried over & checked Remus. "He's sleeping…like the others."

"I just can't…wake…come on! Remy!" James sighed & gave up, kneeling down in front of the chair with Peter sitting beside him to wait for Sirius. Feeling just as helpless, Lily held onto Molly as both girls wept softly, looking scared that they may be next. They could do nothing but wait for Sirius to return.

"Oh dear, not another one," Madam Pomfrey hurried to place Remus on a stretcher Dr. Cross had conjured. "Oh it's a bad day today. We had four more from Hufflepuff alone that collapsed today."

"Come on, let's get him to the Hospital Wing," Dr. Cross headed for the Portrait, Remus's stretcher levitated & floating along behind him.

Molly & Lily took over the couch while others watched as James, Peter & Sirius followed out behind them. They had followed almost down to the Hospital Wing but Dumbledore had pulled them aside into the classroom.

"Why was he awake so long?" asked James.

"We think it might be because he is…what he is," said Sirius.

"You're right Mr. Black," Dumbledore nodded. "He's the one going the longest with hallucinations. It is because he is a werewolf; a creature as dark as the magic Hogwarts is currently dealing with. It took longer for him to absorb it then the others."

"And to think we thought he'd never collapse," Sirius sighed. "That maybe he'd be the one to save us in the end."

"What about sending the others home?" James asked.

"We have experimented with that already," Dumbledore said. "A few of each House will not be returning tomorrow from their Christmas & will continue their schooling via Owl correspondence. But we're keeping a close eye on those chosen to see if any fall. We'll know in a week whether to send the rest home or, if they are still affected even though they have been away from Hogwarts, we might not let anyone leave in case it can spread."

"Quarantine?" the three of them asked, though rhetorically.

"Let us hope it does not come to that," Dumbledore sighed. "But we're already doing that one way. It is unfortunate but…no one from outside can come here except the Aurors. None of the parents can visit at the moment."

"Good!" Sirius muttered.

"Sirius!" James glared at him. He looked at Dumbledore. "Ignor him."

"Yes," Dumbledore chuckled a bit. "A wise decision at the moment." It was Sirius's turn to glare.

The remaining Marauders decided to visit Remus the next day, as curfew was about due. They grabbed random platefuls of food from breakfast & hurried down to the Hospital Wing. Professor Clarkson was there as well, talking to Dr. Cross as they entered.

"So, I believe you may know what my proclamation was about?" he asked once they had entered. He was answered by blank stares. "Simply put, no one is a murderer." With that, he walked out leaving them to figure it out.

"Diviners are weird," James grumbled, locating Remus down the row.

"I think he was referring to that time in class on day," Sirius said. "Something like, 'From the ones in Divination 4th Year class, only 3 will not sleep. 4 of you shall disappear for a few days…' How did the rest go?"

"Um…" James thought for a moment. "'3 of which will see death & one of which will perform a dark deed.'?"

"That's it," Sirius agreed. "That was us by the way. The four of us disappeared for a couple days. You, Peter & Remus saw Rom…he's dead right? So you can see Thestrals now. Remus was the one who came up with & led out the plan to dig him up in the first place."

"Clarkson knew we'd do something," James agreed. "Wonder why he didn't try to stop us?"

"Maybe he can see something else & knew what we did needed to be done," James suggested.

"I hope so," Sirius agreed. "'cause I feel awful for doing that! We all do; especially Remus."

"Well, at least now they can try to find out the real reason for what's happening here," said James.

"And let's hope they do soon," said Sirius.

They continued discussing different things that may have penetrated the castle until they got to Remus's bed. The three of them sat around the edges on either side, wondering when he'll wake up again…if ever. None wanted to say it, but it was all on their minds, _Am I next? And…who'll be left to find a cure & wake me?_


	12. Silver Lining

**(12) Silver Lining**

It had been a few days since Remus was added to the ever-growing number of victims in the Hospital Wing. The surviving Marauders made a point to visit him whenever possible, often taking turns so that one was always with Remus between classes.

As of the Christmas holidays, it was only the students who were awake that were watching over the others for no one was allowed to enter Hogwarts, apart from the Aurors. The restrictions did not stop the owls from carrying mail however & the poor birds were in overdrive as worried parents unable to see their children sent numerous letters whether the students were awake or not.

Sirius kept all of Remus's letters in the drawer of the nightstand beside the bed. The first one arrived a few days after New Year's & knowing it was about Romulus, none of the Marauders dared to even look at it, cringing at the mere thought of what they had done.

"As if the Lupins don't have enough to worry about," James said one day as they had clustered around Remus with a plateful of sandwiches for supper. "First Romulus, now they'll probably be getting news of Remus if not already."

"I can't image what they feel like right now," Peter agreed. "Try not to look so worried Sirius. People will notice!"

"Romulus Lupin is furthest from my mind," Sirius declared.

"Then what it is?" asked James.

Sirius looked around before answering. "We all know Remus is asleep right?" James & Peter nodded. "We all know that, so far, he & everyone else aren't waking up anytime soon, right?"

"Your point?" Peter grumbled.

"Does anyone know how this'll affect…Moony?"

"He's sleeping Sirius," James said. "He's not immune after all."

"I mean the pooch, not the boy!" Sirius pointed out. "We all know Remus won't wake up. But what about Moony on the Full Moon?"

"Uh…um…Madam Pomfrey?" James stammered before turning back to Sirius. "Surely he'd be knocked out to, won't he?" Sirius just shrugged as James turned back to the nurse. "Madam, what about the wolf?"

"The wolf?"

"Yes," James went on. "I mean…on Full Moon, will Remus wake up then…for that?"

"We don't know," answered Pomfrey. "But we'll be moving Mr. Lupin to his usual spot he uses for transforming just in case."

"Where's that anyway?" James tried.

"That's not for you to know!" Madam Pomfrey snapped. "Unless you three have a death wish? No, I'll not have anyone bothering Mr. Lupin during such a difficult time. Run along to your dorms now!"

Sirius, Peter & James grumbled as they stalked away. "How can we go visit him if we can't find where he goes?" Sirius muttered once they were out of earshot. "We learn to be Animagi & we can't even FIND him?"

"We'll find him," James assured. "Someday. Why don't we stop off at the Room Of Requirement for a bit of practise before turning in?"

The other two agreed & spent the next hour trying to transform. They were now able to attempt to become an animal; the only problem being that any spell for Animagic was very hard to control. Magic ricocheted off every wall, turning random objects into what could be considered life forms. James ducked as Sirius seemed to explode, disappearing in a bright flash with jets of magic hurtling everywhere. The light dimmed & Sirius stood, grumbling. He was still human.

"My glasses!" James shrieked, blindly stumbling after them. The glasses somehow sensed he was after them & promptly stood up on the ear-ends & side-scuttled away like a crab. "OI Get back here! Come back!" He soon managed to corner them & reached down to pick them up. The glasses squeaked & started quivering with fear. "Can't believe I'm doing this…" James muttered under breath before addressing his glasses. "Look, I'm not gonna hurt you. It's just…I need you, OK?" The glasses stopped squeaking & stood a little higher leaning to one side as if looking at him. It was a rather cute scene for onlookers.

"Ooo cue the love song intro-!"

"Shut up, Pete!" James ordered, turning back to his glasses that were timidly 'looking' back up at him. "It's all Sirius's fault. Don't mind him. Come on now." He held out his hands & the glasses shyly stepped up. James sighed & was about to put them on his face when the glasses flashed & returned to normal. "Sheesh, I wonder what that was all about? First your Standard Book Of Spells Grade 4, then Sirius's belt, now this?"

"Well let's see," Sirius pulled out the big book that they were using. "It says that any spell of Animagic is not to be spoken or it won't work. The _Anima, Aquima & Areoma Espirit_ enchantments are used to convert one life form into another life form; namely an animal disguise. These are very difficult spells to control. Since the _'Espirits'_ are life-based energy spells, hence the word 'spirit' within the incantation, beginners of Animagic may cause nearby objects to become momentarily alive whenever they lose control of their powers. This is merely an illusion & is of no cause for concern as the effects wear off after a short while. These occurrences will diminish & eventually cease to exist for the more experienced magicians."

"Why didn't you read that to me sooner?" James grumbled. "Instead of having me fuss over my glasses."

"One: 'cause it's funny. Two: 'cause you always fuss over them anyway," Sirius teased. "Always making sure Moony doesn't chew on them & whatnot."

"Considering that these charms can bounce off things," Peter thought for a moment. "We should bounce them off each other, maybe get each other to transform."

"That would be dangerous," Sirius said. "These incantations are to change one's self, not to change others. Who knows what could happen."

"Too bad," James sighed. "Well let's try this again tomorrow. We should get back before curfew starts."

"Good idea," Sirius stood up, shoving the book over to the wall before leaving. The door vanished behind them as the three headed down the hall. "You know, the sooner we find Moony's den the better."

"We'll just follow them under my cloak someday," James said. "We don't need to know where he goes until we can get this thing done or else…we'll just send you there first, Sirius."

Sirius glared before going on. "Maybe we should bring some meat to feed him on our first time," he suggested. "If anything goes wrong we'll drop it & run. Might distract him for a few seconds anyway."

"Good idea," James agreed. "Oh…keep walking Sirius."

"I am walking," Sirius started before noticing who was coming down the opposite direction. "Ohhh. Not in bed yet, Reg?"

"I see you're still standing," Regulus returned the greeting.

"Well, it's not like it's a race to be the next one to collapse now is it?" Sirius retorted. "& if it is, I hope I'm the very last loser."

"Well you're a loser for everything else," Regulus said. "I wouldn't be surprised at that."

"Brought any books in that I need to burn?" Sirius slapped James's hand away before his friend had time to grab him. "Well did you?" Regulus stared at his brother. "You did, didn't you?" Regulus open & closed his mouth a few times, looking like a fish, before turning & running down the hall. "Keep running little brother!" Sirius yelled after him. "I'll come & find it sooner or later!"

Regulus ran & ran until he reached the Portrait to the Slytherin dorms. He sat against the wall, catching his breath & watching to see if his brother had chased him. Sirius was nowhere in sight though & neither were any of his friends. Regulus started to get up & was slightly surprised when he was abruptly yanked to his feet.

"Whoa Reg," Severus muttered. "Didn't notice you were already getting up when I offered to pull you up."

"That's fine Sev," Regulus turned to the Portrait, said the password & entered.

"Something wrong?" Severus asked, following.

"No," Regulus shook his head. "& don't DO that. Please?"

"Do what?" Severus asked, not caring to hide the slyness in his voice.

"You know," Regulus muttered, heading for the large black leather settee. He could almost feel the onyx eyes following him. "Your little mind thing."

"I'm still not good at hiding it am I?" Severus grumbled, sitting next to Regulus. "I almost have it. I've used it on other people & they don't notice."

"Yeah but I'm not 'other people' I'm your friend," Regulus pointed out. "I'm a lot harder to fool."

Deep black eyes all but pierced his soul & Regulus shifted uneasily. "I'll fool you one day," Severus declared.

"Why don't you go pester Lucius with that telepathy of yours?" Regulus snapped. "I'm trying to think here."

"Forget about your useless brother," Severus suggested, standing up to leave.

"That's just the point," Regulus grumbled. "I don't think I can right now. He all but threatened me a while ago." There was a pregnant pause. "No I don't want to talk about it right now." Severus sighed & headed up to bed leaving Regulus alone with his thoughts.

Regulus settled back into his seat, trying to think of anything but his brother yet Sirius invaded his whole mind. It wasn't long though, before he was rescued by Severus's voice. "Reg get Pomfrey! Lucius is on the floor."

"What?'!" Regulus jumped up & ran upstairs to find Severus shaking their platinum-haired friend. He grabbed a glass of water from the nearest bed stand & poured it over Lucius's face, hoping to wake him.

"I said get Pomfrey not drown Lucius!" Severus snapped.

"I thought that would help," Regulus spun around & hurried for the hospital wing. All the while the only thought that kept circling through his head was, _Several Slytherins have already fallen but Lucius? Not Lucius. I hope I've had the potion in time. I'm not seeing things. I'm fine…I hope._

He also had a nagging feeling that he somehow knew whoever caused the curse of the castle.


	13. The Spellbinder

Well I'm back! Sorry for not updating in ages. Xmas staff parties & all…sheesh. Kinda glad the holidays are over now.

Anyway, hope y'all had a great time & hopefully I'll get back to normal now…

* * *

**(13) The Spellbinder**

Regulus hurried through the Slytherin halls, past the ancient dungeons that now served the purpose of classrooms for Potions & onward into the Hospital Wing. Startled, Madam Pomfrey turned around & was about to reprimand him about being out after curfew but Regulus cut her off. "It's Lucius." Madam Pomfrey didn't waste another moment as she made her way to the Slytherin Portrait.

Regulus didn't follow. There was nothing more he could do for Lucius anyway. Or was there? He made his way to the library & began wandering through the back rows. Several books left their shelves & flapped around his head. Regulus sent them back to their places with a simple _Depulso_ jinx, repelling them back to their places. After half an hour, he finally found what he was looking for in "The Keeper Of Sorcery" a book that was hiding in the corner, waiting to fly out at him. Regulus slowly flipped through the pages.

_There are many spells that can only be broken by the one who cast it, mostly of dark origins. For example, if one wishes to curse another & let no other reverse it, he or she is able to bind the magic in various ways, including the use of the circle, the triangle & so on. _

Also, some may have their own personal book, called a binder, in which a certain spell is written. The burning of the binder activates the enchantment & then the magic is trapped so that only they can release it. Such a magician is called a Spellbinder.

A Spellbinder is a powerful caster who uses their personal spells & keeps the spells protected from others by putting his or her own magic into it. As such, Spellbinders are generally more susceptible to the subtleties of Dark Magic due to being able to control others with this power. However, the power within the binder should not be underestimated and it is theoretically possible for one to unknowingly cast the enchantment. It is unknown whether one would retain the knowledge of the Spellbinder or if those powers would lie dormant should this situation occur. There are only two ways to break the hold on this particular magic; either the Spellbinder releases the spell or upon the death of the Spellbinder.

Regulus closed the book with a sigh, "But what if the binder is in the wrong hands & not with its original owner...?" He returned to his dorm, feeling more confused then ever.

And as much as he wanted to deny it, he knew that his brother, along with James and Peter, knew exactly how he was feeling.

Sirius was playing chess with Arthur while Peter was fretting over last minute homework. James made sure neither of them were paying attention to him this evening. He needed to get away by himself. As soon as he had the chance, James slipped away upstairs for his Invisibility cloak & headed out of Gryfindor Tower. It was after curfew but no one would see him though James had the nagging thought of Dumbledore in the back of his mind. He hurried as fast as possible down to the hospital wing & waited inside underneath his cloak.

He didn't have to wait long for Madam Pomfrey was already bustling about & Dr. Cross had conjured a stretcher to float beside Remus's bedside. Remus was soon lying on it & Dr. Cross performed a quick invisibility charm over the stretcher to hide it & headed for the door & outside.

Before following, James looked around the hospital wing & found an extra pair of boots that Dr. Cross used. He changed quickly, also throwing on a doctor's robe & then grabbed some white gloves off the desk. James took a big sniff of himself & noticed that he smelled more like a doctor, a mix of potions & medicines. As a final touch, he grabbed a small bottle of Madam Pomfrey's perfume & sprayed himself with it with a low groan. He was about to enter the lair of a wolf & didn't want to leave his own scent around just in case Remus was territorial. He hoped Remus would take it out on the doctors & not notice James was there. He then threw on his cloak again & hurried out to find Madam Pomfrey & Dr. Cross.

James followed as quietly as possible. It was nearly dark & the Full Moon was just about to rise. The pair ahead with a hidden Remus made their way towards the Whomping Willow. James stood behind & watched in awe as Dr. Cross targeted the large ugly knot above the hollow under the tree with a quick spell from his wand. He & Madam Pomfrey slid inside & disappeared without any problem. James waited a long time before the two of them reappeared & headed back to the castle. He headed for the tree.

The Whomping Willow was appropriately named. It would bend over to stomp on anyone who would try to get near it, using its largest branches on either side. Even with an Invisibility cloak, the tree sensed something or other was coming its way & shuddered ominously. James grabbed a large stone & hit the knot as hard as possible. This froze the tree just barely long enough for him to slip inside.

"Hmm," James looked around. It was dusky near the entrance & pitch black ahead. He sighed wishing he had two wands, one for light & one for adding this to the map. Then he remembered his glasses & with a slight tap of his wand they lit up, casting a surreal glow in front of him. James then aimed his wand down the tunnel & whispered, _"Scania!"_ He followed it for a ways until it started to rise upward with broken stone stairs. At the top was a trap door. Wondering just where he would end up, James pushed it aside & pulled himself up the last few steps. He dropped his cloak into the hole & stood inside what appeared to be a very old shack. It had broken boards & a rickety railing up the stairs leading to the second floor. The walls appeared to be patched up & the windows had been boarded over. There was also a sense of magical shielding about the place, probably the main thing holding it together. With a shudder, James realised he was in the Shrieking Shack & therefore way beyond Hogwarts grounds.

James headed up the squeaky stairs, noticing old blood stains on the floor & bits of greyish-brown fur clinging to the edges of boards where they had broken off. At the top, he found part of a stick that had marks on it as if something had chewed it. There was a door almost in front of him, just off to the side. At least, James assumed it must be a door. The top was shattered & the hinges were rather rusty. He heard cracking sounds coming from inside the room ahead as he made his way towards the door & entered.

What he saw almost made him turn & run. Remus was halfway through transforming & James realised that the cracking sounds were bones breaking & shifting into a different frame. Remus soon disappeared & a large dog lay on the bed instead. _What if he wakes up? If he wakes up...!_ James glanced to the door, then back to what they had decided to call Moony. _I don't like dogs!_ He reached out to touch the fur.

Moony snorted, making James jump back. He watched nervously as the wolf stretched lazily & rolled over. He rolled right off the bed, landing with a loud grumble on the floor. He tucked a paw under & continued sleeping. James sighed slowly relaxing, & tried to pet him again. Moony was grey-brown all over going into lighter coloring on his underside & ending in white with the paws, As James slowly petted him, clumps of fur came off in his hand & he noticed a darker coloring underneath. Moony was molting right in front of him, changing his coat. James also noticed that the fur underneath was a lot more coarse & had a grizzly appearance as well as being darker. _More like an adult..._ He thought, realizing he was holding puppy fur in his hand. He remembered what Peter had once said that the wolf would get bigger. Looking at Moony now, he didn't seem like much, more like a medium-sized Husky, but what was an adult werewolf like? More to the point, what about one that was awake?

James tossed the fur aside as much as possible though the gloves collected more than a few dark hairs. He got up & shook off any more loose fur. "Better not be a shedder your whole life!" He warned before leaving. "I really don't feel like picking up all your fur." He was answered with a grunt as Moony switched paws, flexing out one & tucking the other under his chin. He wiggled his black wet nose, sniffing in his dreams. Several wrinkles along the top of his nose formed as Moony growled quietly, probably catching whatever it was he was dreaming about. "Stay mutt. Stay!" James ordered. He knew Moony couldn't answer but still he had to practise right?

James stayed only a few minutes before making his way back to the castle. He stopped at the hospital wing to drop off the extra clothes, hoping he had masked his scent well enough. As soon as he got to the dorms, he hurried into the bathroom to shower & get rid of the perfume scent before Sirius started asking questions. James didn't want to tell the others where he had been for Sirius had been adamant about not telling Remus before it was time. He would probably get upset over nothing if he found out James had gone to Moony's den.

After hurrying upstairs to hide the bit of paper with the new route on it in his trunk, James settled down on the couch in front of the fire in the common room, poking at Nightstalker with his wand, much to the owl's annoyance.

"Where've you been?" Sirius demanded.

James groaned. "Just to the hospital wing. But Remus was already gone."

"We'll find him when we're ready," Sirius said just as James figured he would.

"Yeah," James agreed. His only hope was that Moony would never wake up on this particular Full Moon. Nightstalker got fed up of being poked & suddenly flew wildly up the chimney, showering the hearth with sparks. "Well excuse me!" James grumbled as the others laughed.

"Serves you right," Sirius said. "Bothering the poor bird like that."

Remus was lying in the hospital wing by the next afternoon & although Sirius had asked again where he went, Madam Pomfrey would only point him to the door. Sirius grumbled. "Not like we'd go there…yet. I just want to know how they keep such a fleabag away from school on his nights."

"Fleabag?" James snorted.

"Don't worry about it," Peter said after he had ceased laughing.

"I'm heading for the library," James changed the subject. "I saw Lily go in there."

Sirius & Peter groaned. "Fine, I'll just go to the kitchens to look for a snack. You coming, Siri?"

"Nah, I've already got a snack," he pulled a sandwich from his bag. "I'll meet you guys under the beech tree. Well at least you, Pete. Dunno about Jim." He half laughed as James disappeared into the library. Peter nodded & headed off to the kitchens while Sirius headed outside.

"Sirius!"

He turned sharply to see Regulus marching up to them. "Go away!" he began.

"Not now!" Regulus hissed. "You!" He eyed Sirius. "We need to talk. Now!"

"I've nothing to say to you!" Sirius turned & began walking away.

"But I do!" Regulus grabbed his brother by the shoulder & whirled him back to face him.

"Let go!" Sirius pulled out his wand. _"Repulso!"_

"Oof!" Regulus yelped as he hit a gargoyle statue. He pulled out his own wand. _"Stupefy!"_ Sirius ducked, tripping over the gargoyle's corner, which made him drop his wand. Regulus grabbed it & aimed both of them at Sirius. "In there. Now!" He maneuvered his brother into a classroom. After silencing the door so no one from out side could hear, he turned on Sirius.

"We have a problem!"

"I don't care," Sirius grumbled. "I'm leaving."

"Sirius!" Regulus jumped in front of him. "You don't understand! I found out what's wrong with the castle."

Sirius paused & eyed his younger brother. At first, he thought Regulus was joking but the look on his brother's face made him change his mind. Regulus was panic-striken. "Go on," Sirius said slowly.

"You remember that book last year you burned?" Regulus began. "That's it!"

"I'm…not following you."

Regulus sighed. "By burning that book, Sirius, you released the spell."

"I burned it to get rid of it!" Sirius retorted.

"No!" Regulus sighed before going on. "By burning it, you released it."

"Not my fault my brother brought some book of black magic into the school," Sirius snarled, slowly walking around his brother. He stared him down, almost as if he was belittling him. "So what do you intend to do about it?"

There was an awkward silence before Regulus said, "Sirius, did you even read anything of that book?"

"Just a name," Sirius shrugged. "It was for Snape right?"

"Yes," Regulus nodded. "From someone else. I was just the delivery boy."

"Sucks to be you," Sirius pulled out a liquorish wand he had stashed away in his pocket & began sucking on it.

"Sev never got to study it. He doesn't even know about the book," Regulus went on. "But even if he did, he couldn't do anything about it 'cause you were the one who cast the spell from it &…& since you don't even know what there's only one way to end it."

"What way is that?" Sirius asked, more interested in his candy. He didn't think a wall could slam his back harder then when his younger brother had thrashed him into it. He groaned, knowing he'd feeling that in the morning. Regulus had his hands worked into his brother's collar. Sirius grabbed those hands & threw Regulus backward. "Are you mad?'!"

"Ohhh! Don't you get it? This entire mess is your fault!" Regulus yelled. "And since you don't know what you did & have no way of knowing how to undo the spell, I have to do something about it."

"You just said no one can," Sirius began.

"There's two ways out of this," Regulus said. "Either you break the spell or…or…I'm sorry...but I have no choice." He had gone rather quiet, almost crying.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius asked.

His brother did not answer, only turned around & with a flick of his wand, the tip turned into a blade. "You're the Spellbinder, Sirius, perhaps not but choice but-but that's our problem."

"W-What?" Sirius glanced nervously at the bladed wand.

"I tried to tell you not to do it!" Regulus went on. "But you just grabbed the book from me & threw it in the fire. You never listen. I warned you; tried to at least but oh no no! You just HAD to burn it!"

"Wh-? S-Stop!" Sirius dropped what was left of his liquorish wand & stepped backward. "W-What are you doing?"

"Don't you get it?" Regulus half-snapped. "You took that book from me & burned it. That was a binder. It had a certain spell written in it, I'm not sure what but it was not intended for Hogwarts; at least not yet. To break this curse, the Spellbinder must reverse it but since the binder fell into the wrong hands, yours, you wouldn't know how. The only other way is…is by the death of the Spellbinder. As soon as you're dead, everyone will wake up!" He raised his bladed wand, hardly daring to look at his brother. "I'm sorry..."


	14. The Covenant

**(14) The Covenant**

Sirius's eyes went wide & he had barely enough time to jump backwards. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far for the wall was in his way. He felt a sudden pain in his left upper arm as Regulus lurched forward, plunging his bladed wand into his brother. Sirius threw himself sideways, forcing the blade to wrench out of his flesh, tearing the gash even more. He threw his hands out to spread across the floor as he fell, landing on his injured arm. Sirius rolled over on his back. "Are you comple-Whoa!" He rolled over several times, evading Regulus.

"Sirius, I have to! It's the only way!"

"There's got to be something else!" Sirius yelped, shoving himself backwards as Regulus again came toward him. Sirius soon met another wall & wondered what to do next. He swung his leg out to trip his brother over, somehow managing to get back on his feet as Regulus stumbled. Sirius then threw himself forward, scoring a hit as he punched his brother in the face.

Regulus took this moment to grab Sirius by the collar again with one hand, bringing the blade down with the other. Sirius shoved his brother in the stomach & staggered backwards, twisting out of his brother's grip. The blade only just slashed him across the cheek. As his brother jumped forward & landed in front of Sirius, he suddenly came up with another idea. Not missing this chance, he quickly shoved Regulus back & kicked the youngest set of Black family jewels as hard as he could, digging in his heel for maximum effect. Regulus's eyes widened as he dropped his wand; the blade vanishing as it left his hand, fell to his knees & quickly flopped over to curl up in a fetal position as he moaned.

"Finally!" Sirius huffed. "Someone's got control of this situation."

"Never be able…to have children!" Regulus wheezed out, his voice somewhat higher than normal.

"Good," Sirius stood straight, stretching his back. "One of you is more than enough!" He stepped forward & kicked Regulus's wand away, sending it rolling under a desk. Then he ripped a strip of material from his robes & tied it as high as possible on his injured arm by holding one end between his teeth, all the while stealing glances at his fallen brother still writhing on the floor.

"Ohhh Merlin this hurts!" Regulus continued to groan.

Sirius snickered as he stalked around Regulus, showing no sympathy for his brother's pain, making sure to touch his own makeshift bandage. His fallen brother managed a glare, still whimpering. "Feel good yet?" He teased, noticing with glee the dark look his younger brother made, who momentarily raised his head to glower sideways at him. Sirius continued to tend to his own wounds, pulling off another strip to dab at his face as Regulus slowly got up. "Well," Sirius sighed. "That's better."

Regulus glanced at his wand lying under the desk & then back at Sirius. "What do you intend to do about this?"

"Oh!" Sirius pretended to faint. "Now he asks me!"

"Well you've got to do something," Regulus said. "You don't know the counter-spell. I don't either. No one here does. Unless you intend to let the others sleep for all eternity?"

"First things first," Sirius raised his wand making Regulus flinch. Sirius paused a moment & then raised his foot as if to kick again. Regulus hobbled backwards earning a hard laugh from his brother. "Alright, alright! _Covenair Secret!_"

Regulus glared. "Why the secrecy charm?"

"Why do you think?" Sirius snapped, pushing his brother down into a chair. "What happens in this room about this binder stays between us unto death. Swear it!" He held his wand up between them as it cast a circle of white light around both of them. Regulus remained silent. "I said swear it! Or I'll more than kick you there!"

"Fine!" Regulus gave up & repeated it. The white circle flashed & disappeared & Regulus felt oddly bound to his brother. "How were you able to do that spell anyway? It's more for Grade 5 isn't it?"

"Grade 6 actually," Sirius shrugged. "Besides, who cares if I'm an overachiever since it'll keep us from telling anyone about what really happened here. The only downside is that I'll be forced to work with you." He grumbled, hoping that would settle the matter so his brother would stop wondering why he was into advanced magic. Regulus was the last person on earth that he'd want to tell about the Animagic he was studying. Imagine all the pranks he could torture the younger one with. "Now, back to this problem."

"What do you intend to do about it?"

"Well for one thing, I intend to live," Sirius hissed. "Who gave you that book?"

"He left it behind at home for me to deliver here," Regulus said.

"That didn't answer my question," Sirius glared. "Who gave you that book?"

"Lord Voldemort," Regulus sighed, hoping Sirius would get on with it. "Though most people call him by his title rather than his name. Anyway, I told you he came to our house a long time ago."

"Ok, fine," Sirius looked thoughtful a moment. "Go ask him what the spell was. Come back & tell me."

"I can't do that!" Regulus yelped.

"Unless you want to be a eunuch…" Sirius threatened, raising his foot again.

"B-b-but it doesn't work like that!" Regulus spluttered. "I have no contact with him. I don't know anyone who really does. He makes the calls not us & finally, no one asks him for anything unless it's a mutual understanding between them. Besides, no one knows where he lives."

Sirius buried his head in his hands for a moment. He wasn't getting anywhere. Regulus sat on the chair in front of him, also at a loss. They were back at square one; though, Regulus had lost any urge he had to actually murder someone but it seemed like the only way to restore Hogwarts.

"How much time do I have?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Before this curse takes me too," Sirius explained. "I haven't been seeing things yet so I should still have some time left."

"Your whole life Sirius," Regulus said. "You're the Spellbinder, it won't touch the one who burnt the book. Everyone else though…"

"Excellent," Sirius straightened up a bit. "What about you? Seen things lately? Besides ways to kill me that is."

Regulus managed a quick sinister smile. "Not yet, but it'll come soon enough."

"Very well then," Sirius sounded like he had a plan. "We're going to spend all our waking hours of free time in the Restricted Section of the library. History of a dangerous spell such as this would only be locked up in there. We should be able to find something."

"Yeah & get caught as soon as we enter," Regulus pointed out.

"I'll get an Invisibility Cloak."

Regulus snorted. "Those things are very rare & don't come cheap."

"Who cares about price? The Black family is the third richest in the wizarding world."

"Soon to be first," Regulus said.

"What do you mean?"

"Your betrothal. As soon as you're out of school remember?"

Sirius groaned. Getting married to some girl he never even met was the last thing on his mind. Besides, his family didn't need any more money anyway. "Funny you didn't think about her when you were trying to kill me."

"If you die, I'm next in line. I would have to marry Rhianon."

"Whatever," Sirius grumbled.

"And unlike you, who has absolutely no interest in this family or our values, I have seen 'Rye' more then once," Regulus went on. "She's actually quite pretty."

"Why isn't she here at Hogwarts?"

Regulus scoffed. "Her family is the richest in our world. She doesn't go to school. She has her own private tutors."

"Whatever," Sirius grumbled again. "Why are we discussing marriage anyway? We're supposed to be finding a way out of this mess you brought to me that I released."

"You're the one who went on with it," Regulus said.

Sirius just rolled his eyes. "Now as I was saying, I can get a Cloak. I happen to know of one close by."

"Fine," Regulus said. "What do you intend to look for?"

"Well anything about Spellbinders & their binders," Sirius said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Let's start tonight." He headed for the door & left.

Regulus slowly stood up to follow, though he took his time, being still rather stiff & sore. _That stupid git kicks hard!_ He groaned & headed for the library to wait for his brother there.

Sirius raced to Gryfindor Tower, hoping James was bothering Lily or something instead of using his Cloak. He found Peter & James in front of the fire working on homework. Sirius slowly made his way into the common room & towards the stairs of the boys' dorms, hoping his friends wouldn't see him. He had made it upstairs unnoticed & started searching through James's trunk for his Cloak. It was lying on the bottom. "Sorry Jim," Sirius whispered to himself. "Gotta steal this for a bit. Besides, you and Peter are the last people I need to find out about me doing Black Magic despite me not meaning to." He wrapped the soft material around him, sighing. If James & Peter ever found out he was responsible for what happened to Remus & the others, they would never talk to him again. And Hogwarts! What would the whole school think about him? A traitor? Someone looking for a good laugh? He would most certainly be expelled. Not to mention, what would his family think? They'd either be very proud of him, something Sirius loathed, or despise him even more for getting caught. No, no one else in the castle could ever find out. It was bad enough Regulus knew. Sirius worked his way towards the library, glad that he had sense enough to stop Regulus from blabbing or himself from letting something slip with that secret charm. He reached the library almost half an hour later, having picked his way through the halls while under the Cloak.

Regulus felt a tap on his shoulder & looked around. "Wha-Whoa MMPF!" Sirius had enveloped him with the Cloak.

"Sh!" Sirius ordered. "Told you I know about a Cloak like this." Regulus only stared as his brother pointed towards large iron doors at the back of the main library that were chained together. A large sign with the words "Restricted Section" hung above it. "That way!" Sirius pushed his brother forward none to gently either.

Regulus glared. "Don't be so rough!"

"Hey you tried stabbing me earlier, remember?" Sirius whispered hoarsely, glancing back to the desk. The librarian was still engrossed in some book & didn't hear. "So I think I deserve a little vengeance if you don't mind. Besides, I don't like you anyway, baby brother." Regulus narrowed his eyes at the term 'baby' but was shushed from commenting by a sharp pain in his side when Sirius poked his wand under his ribs.

They made their way past the desk & down the rows of books, finally reaching the end. The front desk was out of sight as the high shelves hid them from view. Sirius pointed his wand at the lock on the chains. "_Alohomora!"_ The lock clicked & opened. Sirius let the doors open barely halfway & the two pushed themselves through.

"I hate you," Regulus retorted once inside & the doors closed again.

Sirius glared at Regulus. "Don't make me hurt you again!" He threatened, letting the Cloak slide off. "Start looking. Any book on black magic should do."

"This will take ages!" Regulus groaned. "Do you have any idea how big this really is?"

"It's very big," Sirius agreed. "But it's still a library. Everything's in order from A to Z. We'll start with the A's & work our way through it all. We'll make one letter out of every visit until we either find something or finish the library." Sirius grabbed the first book under the letter A as if that settled the matter.

"You mean do all the A section…tonight?" Regulus gaped.

"Quit gawking & start looking!" Sirius continued flipping through pages. "If you don't move soon, I'll _Crucio_ you. Our father has used that often enough on me & I know how to use it. So get moving!" Regulus didn't need to be told again. Both sons of the Black family knew that terrifying word all too well.

Regulus scanned several books, passing a few minutes in silence. He was waiting for Sirius to cool off. Being a Black meant being very predictable & though Sirius rejected anything to do with his family, he could not reject the mean streaked bad tempered genes from several generations of breeding & in-breeding long before he even came to exist on the planet.

When Sirius wasn't so dangerous, Regulus snapped a book shut & said wryly, "Nice to know you have something of us Blacks in you. Nice temperament you got. Only a true Black would threaten with _Crucio_. There's hope for you yet."

Sirius loudly banged a rather evil-looking book that was chained to the shelf back into its place. "Reg! Don't you EVER say that to me again!" He ignored the book's screech of protest.

"Getting all hot & bothered at a little something again are we?" Regulus went on. "Just like a Black." Too late, he realized he had gone too far. Sirius marched down the row towards him, drawing his wand. Regulus noticed an oddly familiar flicker of hate in his brother's eyes & was quickly reminded of his father. Sirius looked so much like their father, especially now, & now wasn't a good time. Would he really bring himself to use _Crucio?_ Regulus didn't wait to find out. "Ohhh Merlin!" He turned & ran down the row, turned into another aisle & found a dead end. "Keep away from me Sirius!"

Sirius bore down on him until they were nose to nose. "I said," he went on in a dangerously low voice. "Don't say that to me again." He held his wand up.

Regulus tried hard not to flinch. Sirius glared at him for a moment then Regulus felt his head spin as his brother slapped him hard across the face. Sirius turned & headed back the way he had come, his robes flowing behind him. Regulus sank to the floor, sighing in relief. "So like our father…" he muttered to himself. He took a few moments to recover, glad that a slap was all he got. When he returned to searching through the books, he made sure he stayed as far away from his brother as was possible.

"By the way," Sirius spoke up after nearly two hours in silence. "You're lucky that was me & not our father back in that corner. He'd have done far worse but I am nothing like him." Regulus just sighed & continued looking at books. For once, he was wise & didn't say anything.

They spent all night on the first section of books. Regulus was getting more & more tired but he didn't dare speak to his brother just in case he went over the edge & did worse then hitting him. It was nearly dawn when they were finally done & they had found nothing.

"It's a good thing it's Sunday today," Regulus finally spoke, or rather yawned.

"Yes, it is," Sirius agreed. "Go to bed right now so we can start early this evening on the next bit."

"We're doing this on a school night?" Regulus gasped.

"We're doing this every night until we come up with something," Sirius declared. "See you tonight & you better be there. You have to be. We're bound by our covenant remember?" With that, he left as Regulus groaned & headed for the dorms knowing he was in for a long week.

Sirius made his way back to Gryfindor Tower, pausing a moment in front of the Portrait to fold the Cloak as small as possible & hide it under his robes. He then entered & headed for the dorms where James & Peter were still sleeping, the pre-light of dawn casting odd shadows over their beds. Sirius flopped down into his own bed & pulled the curtains. He had barely fallen asleep when James & Peter were both bouncing on his bed to wake him up.

"Come on!" James groaned. "Didn't get enough sleep yet?"

"I didn't sleep at all," Sirius yawned before turning over.

"We're going to visit Remus," Peter informed him.

"I'll be down later," Sirius mumbled into his pillow.

James & Peter shared a questioning look before getting off their friend's bed to get dressed. They were still alone when they entered the hospital wing & sat down next to Remus's prone body.

"First time for everything, I guess," Peter sighed. "Sirius missed breakfast."

James shrugged. "Maybe he's not feeling well?"

"Like, maybe he's going to end up like Remus?" Peter said for him. James only looked at him before pulling a sandwich out of his bag, worried that Peter could easily be right.

Sirius didn't get up until midway through supper. His only explanation was that he just didn't sleep during the night. He raced through the last bit of supper & disappeared out the door. "Coming Reg?"

Regulus sighed & stood up from leaning on a gargoyle statue near the library's door. "Do I have a choice?" He muttered sarcastically. Sirius only glared at him before heading into the library.

"Let's sit near the back next to the Restricted Section," Sirius said. "We'll enter in a few minutes as soon as everyone's gone."

They waited nearly fifteen minutes before most students had left. There was only a small group of second Years sitting at a table & the librarian who was starting to nod off. Sirius threw the Cloak over both of them & they entered to start on the next section. They spent the next several nights going through sections of books. Regulus tried not to talk to Sirius at all so as to avoid another, possibly worse, episode than on the first night there.


	15. Shadow Of Time

**(15) Shadow Of Time**

As the long nights of searching wore on, the Black brothers were looking more & more worn. They would have perhaps two hours of sleep between school days. It was only the weekends when they got any real rest as they only worked at night so as not to get caught.

Others soon took notice & were half-expecting them to be the next ones to fall. Even Severus had ventured to ask Regulus about how tired he looked. He was answered with a dark glare & a warning to not even think about using his telepathy. Severus wisely returned his attention to homework.

But the research was taking its toll & one night, Sirius slammed a book back in its place & turned to Regulus. "I think we should take a short break," he said. "Just for a while."

"You sure?" Regulus asked & Sirius nodded. "I was hoping you'd say that sooner or later."

"I didn't want to stop," Sirius admitted, sinking to the floor. "At least half of each House is down now, even the Slytherins. It's a wonder you haven't collapsed yet. Guess the dark magic of our family is keeping you awake."

"Well," Regulus sighed. "Not for long." Sirius looked up at him. "I'm…starting to see things."

"Oh great!" Sirius groaned. "I can't do this alone! How much time do you have?"

"Probably a week or so," Regulus said. "It just started the other day. I keep seeing Uncle Alphard. It's like he wants to kill me or something. In life, he never bothered me."

Sirius banged the back of his head on the bookshelf a few times. "Great!" he huffed. "So we better come up with something over the weekend." He got up & headed for the door, cloak in hand. "I'm going to bed."

"So am I," Regulus agreed as they stepped under the cloak.

"Just wake up tomorrow," Sirius muttered as they left. He worked his way to the tower, ducking under tapestries or behind statues whenever he saw so much as a shadow. He had searched through Remus's trunk to find the Map they were working on but to no avail & so had to be very careful as he moved along. Sirius finally arrived at the Fat Lady's Portrait around 2 in the morning & went straight to bed.

Unfortunately, sleep wasn't something he got a lot of as James's voice woke him a short while later. "I'm telling you, Pete, it's gone! Dad is going to kill me. Do you have any idea how expensive an Invisibility Cloak is?"

"Look, I'm sure it's around here somewhere," Peter said. "Maybe ask Sirius?"

Sirius gulped & quickly turned over, pretending to sleep.

"I've been looking for that thing for weeks!" James snarled as he whipped open Sirius's curtains. "Wake up!" He jumped on Sirius & began shaking him so violently it was impossible to pretend anything. "Did you hide it?"

"What?" Sirius moaned, trying to look as if he had been rudely awakened.

"My cloak?" James pressed. "I hope you know where it is or else, I'll have to write to Dad & tell him it's lost. I don't want to do that. He'll be so mad!"

"No, don't…don't write anything!" Sirius sat up. "It's here somewhere. You probably misplaced it." James only glared at him. "Well, have you tried asking Evans?" Sirius defended. "She probably hid it on you so you can't spy up her skirt anymore."

"I never have anyway," James fumed. "But thanks for the idea. Now I really want my cloak back."

"Like she'll believe you," Sirius teased. "And you're welcome."

James sighed heavily. "I'll keep looking I guess but if I don't get it back by spring break…" he sighed again as he got up from the bed & left.

Sirius swung his legs out of bed & sat on the edge. "Spring break, huh?" he whispered to himself. "When is that again?"

"Next week," said Peter.

"Really?" Sirius gasped.

"Yeah," Peter finished doing his tie in front of the mirror at his desk before turning around. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Sirius shrugged.

Peter stared at him for a while. "Want to do something?"

"Scream out loud."

"OK," Peter nodded apprehensively. "Anything el-?"

"AHHH!" Sirius screamed, making Peter step back a few times.

"Uh…" he stammered. "Feel…better?"

Sirius stood up & started to get dressed. "Not one freakin' bit!"

"Anything you want to ta-?"

"_Non!"_ ("No!")

Peter's eyebrows shot up. "OK…O…K. I'll see you downstairs then."

Sirius said nothing, only continued to get changed into school uniform. He was thinking hard. Spring break was around the corner. That was the limit James had set upon him, Sirius decided. He'll get the cloak back by then & everyone would be awakened during the break. One way or the other, he & Regulus had to undo the curse by Monday. Sirius headed downstairs with resignation, already regretting that they had turned in early last night. With Regulus, at last, slowly giving in to the force over the castle & only a few nights to go, they needed all the time they could get.

Sirius sat down to breakfast about half an hour later & for once in his life, he was relieved to see his brother awake & sitting at the Slytherin Table. He sighed & pulled out his quill to write on a napkin. Then he folded it into a bird-like shape & checked James & Peter to make sure they weren't watching. The two were hovering over a textbook, oblivious to their friend's movements, so Sirius silently cast a flying charm on his note & aimed it for his brother.

Regulus barely managed to catch the note before the charm died out & it fluttered helplessly towards his cereal bowl. "Now what does he want?" he muttered under breath.

"Something wrong?" Severus asked.

"Yeah, I have a big brother named Sirius Black," Regulus groaned, adding somewhat sarcastically. "Ever hear of him?"

"Unfortunately," Severus sighed. "Unfortunately."

Regulus opened the note once Severus had turned away.

_We need this done by Monday. Meet me tonight._

That was all, but it was all that was needed. Regulus groaned again.

"We have a bit of time to visit Remus before class," James said.

"If we hurry," Peter gulped down the last bit of breakfast & got up. The three of them made their way to the hospital wing, Sirius lagging behind, & sat down around the bed. "I wish we could just shake him, you know? Get him up again."

"Yeah," James agreed. "But it's too deep a sleep. So far, it looks like not even Moony would wake up. That's what Pomfrey said." He added almost as an afterthought in case Sirius got suspicious.

"Let's get moving," Peter suddenly yelped. "We're going to be late."

Sirius pretended to follow but once James & Peter were out the door, he turned & headed back to Remus's bed. He sat down & sighed, looking around him. The ward was full now of students from all years, from all Houses & this wasn't everyone. Dr. Cross & Madam Pomfrey had opened up a spare classroom nearby for more. Sirius turned back to his friend sleeping beside him. Was he really responsible for all this? It was beginning to look more & more like there was only one way out of this mess.

Sirius went from class to class, not paying attention to any of them. He suddenly found himself ducking out of sight of his friends & heading for the library to meet his brother. They went to the back & waited until no one was around before sliding under the cloak & heading in.

"I thought we were gong to take a break?" Regulus complained once they were inside.

"It'll be done by Monday," Sirius answered. "So only a few nights left."

"What makes you so sure we can fix this by then?" Regulus asked.

"We've only got a dozen rows left to do," Sirius pointed out.

"Yeah & you know how long it takes to do half of one?"

"We're not moving fast enough," Sirius said. "So shut up & get moving!"

Regulus did so, albeit reluctantly. "There are still a couple of guys in the library. Don't you think it's risky coming in here so early?"

"Quite," was all that Sirius said.

"OK," Regulus sighed.

"Move over," Sirius suddenly went on.

"What?"

"To the next row," Sirius explained. "From now on we each do our own & we do two every night so that will be four a night. We'll be done by Monday."

"Ohhh!" Regulus slammed a book on the shelf. "That's impossible!"

"It will be if you don't shut up & move."

Sirius kept them at it all through the night & late into the next morning. They had done their four rows at last & it was time to move before breakfast was over & the library opened. They hurried towards the Great Hall, Regulus making a mental note to go down to only two meals a day so he could sleep during lunch. He dared not ask Sirius why he had changed his mind & doubled their workload in case his brother got mad at him again.

It was the same the next time they entered the Restricted Section. Regulus worried that they weren't being as careful as before for entering so early so Sirius decided to arm the doors with a silencing charm. Regulus felt slightly better as they worked on the next four rows, hoping they'd find something soon so they wouldn't have to come here again. The night passed without incident & they were actually done just after breakfast started. Regulus decided to sleep for a bit instead, deciding to smuggle a sandwich or something into class later.

Finally, the night arrived when they were on the last rows of books. No matter what happened, this would be their last time in the Restricted Section. Regulus actually moved a bit faster with this thought in mind, thinking all would be well soon enough but nothing could have prepared him for Sirius's next order.

Regulus was on his last row when Sirius came over & pulled the next book he had been looking at out of his hands. "Go to bed. I'll finish this."

Regulus stared. "Wha…huh?"

"I only have my last row to finish & I'm halfway through," Sirius explained. "Then I'll finish yours. I need you to rest for tomorrow."

"OK," Regulus gulped, backing away slowly towards the door. _What is he up to now?_ As soon as he was close to the door, he exited as fast as he could be for Sirius changed his mind.

It was Sunday, so Regulus headed straight for bed, using a forgotten hall that Sirius had shown him to miss the patrolling Prefects. He slept all day & would have missed supper had not Severus come to poke him awake. He was about to ask but Regulus shushed him. "Didn't sleep much the past few nights."

"Sure looks like it," Severus agreed. "What's going on? I know you've been sneaking out late at night & I know you haven't been sleeping much for over a month. Don't make me use this." Severus tapped the side of his forehead with the tip of his wand.

"You do & I'll kill you," Regulus stretched & got up, feeling deep onyx eyes boring into his very soul. "Severus!" He heard a long huff behind him.

"What's going on then?" Severus asked again. "It's not a girlfriend from a different House is it?"

"So what if it is?"

"W-Well," Severus stammered, not believing what he was hearing. "Um…well, so long as she's not mudblooded, it's alright…I guess."

Regulus eyed his friend up & down. "What if she isn't a she?" he said with a sly smile.

Severus gulped. "Um…well…if…if…uh…gay is your way, that's fine."

Regulus burst out laughing. "Thanks Sev, I really needed a laugh. I'll not forget your face for a while!"

"I-I-I'm straight though," Severus added hastily. "Just so we're clear."

"So am I," Regulus said. "I was just kidding around. Sheesh! That's all my parents need, a wayward son & a gay one. No one to carry on the great Black family name." He rolled his eyes.

"You sounded like your brother just now," Severus said. "No offence."

"Much taken!" Regulus glared. "I do have a girlfriend somewhere, just so we're clear, but me being a secret admirer & all, I can't tell anyone who she is."

"'Cause she's a he right?" Severus teased, earning a glare.

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"OK," Regulus pulled out his wand. "_Silencio."_

Severus mouthed the words, 'I hate you!' making his friend snicker. Regulus headed for supper, a rather angry-looking Severus in tow, never bothering to release the spell. He let it wear off, _Silencio_ being one of the charms that would fade of its own accord after a while.

Supper past without much incident. Severus's voice finally returned to him during dessert & he threatened to do the same to Regulus someday as soon as he could talk. Regulus only snickered again, turning back to his plate. A note was lying on his cake.

_Meet me in the library after supper._

"Now what?" Regulus muttered, getting up. He glanced to the Gryfindor Table only to find Potter & Pettigrew shoving cake into each other's faces. Sirius was nowhere in sight. He headed for the library to find that his brother was already there, waiting for him. Sirius was sitting on the couch in front of the fire, staring into space. "You wanted to see me?"

"Uh huh."

After an awkward silence, Regulus asked, "You finish the rows last night?"

"Mhm."

"…And?"

"Nothing." Sirius said simply, making Regulus stare. "Absolutely…nothing."

Regulus sat down sharply beside his brother. "You kidding me?"

"Nope."

Another moment of silence past, each silently daring the other to break it. Regulus finally did. "Well that explains it. Why you were so pressed for Monday…Monday…it's…well for you it's…a matter of life & de…you have to make a choice to either live or…or…Sirius are sure you haven't found anything?"

"It must have been a new spell he created," Sirius said. "One no one would know about. Easier to keep it tied down to a Spellbinder. I had a feeling we wouldn't find anything in the end."

"Probably."

They spent the next several minutes in silence, thinking about what to do next. They knew what had to be done, but neither of them wanted to bring it up. After a long while, Sirius stretched & got up. "Remember I told you to rest because I might need you on Monday?"

"…Yes…" Regulus said slowly, now realizing what Sirius needed him for.

"I want you to spend tonight in the library," Sirius said. "This cloak belongs to a friend of mine so leave it at Gryfindor's door once you're done."

"Done what?"

Sirius sighed before going on. "Find the quickest, gentlest way to kill me. Don't tell me how or when, just do it." Regulus only stared. "Oh & don't come at me with a knife this time. Be more subtle. But do get it done by tomorrow night. Any time tomorrow. Don't forget to make it as accidental looking as possible. Don't want to get caught being a murderer now do you? Goodnight." Sirius dropped the cloak on the couch & headed for the door. "And goodbye."

"Oh sweet Merlin!" Regulus collapsed onto the couch, holding the cloak in his hands. He couldn't believe what his brother just asked of him. He spent most of the night in the library, not believing that it had come down to actually having to kill his brother after all. Too depressed to think about it any more, he headed for his dorms, hoping something would come to him in the night.

"Sirius?"

"Yes!" Sirius all but leaped out of his skin.

"Are you OK?" James asked. "You've been rather jumpy all morning."

"Oh I'm," He glanced around. "I'm fine. Really." James looked at him for a moment before turning & heading down the hall towards the doors. Sirius lagged behind, not really caring about going anywhere anymore. It was already late into Monday morning & he had yet to see his brother. He tried not to think about the night, knowing he'd probably be dead by then. What did Regulus have in mind for him? Sirius sighed & stared at the backs of his two remaining friends up ahead of him, hurrying towards their beech tree by the lake. James climbed onto the largest low branch & stared across the grounds to where his favorite redhead stood with some friends by Hagrid's hut whenever Lily was looking the other way.

"James!" Peter's voice made James jump & almost fall out of the tree. "How long are you going to stare at her?"

"As long as I can," James grumbled.

"Staring is rude," Peter pointed out. "It's been a while since you tried talking to her. You should go over there."

"Maybe I will," James stretched his hands over his head & marched towards Hagrid's.

"Uh-oh," Peter squeaked. "I didn't think he'd actually go over there."

"Aww he'll survive," Sirius shrugged, not really caring.

"I hope so," Peter said. "Let's go with him in case we have to save his hide."

Sirius reluctantly agreed & the two hurried to catch up with James, arriving just moments after he did, slightly out of breath. James was slowly working his way through the small group to get closer to Lily. Sirius & Peter decided it was best not to go any further & just watch.

James reached out & tapped Lily on the shoulder. "Hi, Lily."

"Hello, Potter," Lily sighed.

"Come on, Lils," James said teasingly. "When are you going to call me Jim? I'm marrying you someday anyway so you might as well call me Jim."

"I'll start calling you Jim when you stop being so big-headed," Lily said. "And for the love of Merlin, please! Please don't call me Lils!"

"Ouch!" Sirius whispered to Peter. "That had to hurt."

"True though," Peter agreed.

"Well what would you like to be called?" James asked with a slight huff.

"Anything but!" Lily stated.

"OK," James nodded. "Look me & the guys have to get going."

"How'd he know we're here?" Peter asked Sirius who just rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you later," James turned to leave. "Miss Anything But."

"James Potter!" Lily whipped around. "Oh, you horrible arrogant fool!"

"Run!" Sirius yelped, already sprinting away with Peter close behind.

They reached the beech tree a few moments later with James coming up behind them in a huff. "Why'd you leave so fast?"

"That, my dear friend, was Lily Evans," Peter said. "That's why!"

James only glared. "Let's go get something to eat!" With that, he headed for the castle without a backwards glance.

Sirius sighed as he followed along behind. What would they do after he was gone? He wanted to talk to them, but this had to look like an accident & the covenant charm wouldn't allow him to speak of it anyway. Once they were inside, Sirius decided to say something before his friends became suspicious of him again. "Um…Jim, Peter? I'm going to go see Remus."

"Alright," said James. "We'll catch up to you there after we grab some snacks from the kitchens."

Once James & Peter disappeared around the corner, Sirius was left alone in his thoughts. He began wandering down the halls, slowly making his way towards the hospital wing. It was afternoon by now & Regulus had yet to show up.

"Sirius!"

Sirius turned around & saw his brother coming down the hall. "There you are! I thought you chickened out or something. But I saw you coming. That was stupid to call."

"We need to talk."

For a fleeting moment, Sirius dared to hope his brother had found an alternative. "What?"

"Not here," Regulus said. "Let's go up the Astronomy Tower, away from everyone."

Sirius agreed & the two of them hurried up as fast as possible. They arrived at the top about half an hour later & stepped out onto the balcony that was also the flat roof of the tower. Several telescopes stood around the outer border, draped in sheets until night. Regulus walked to the edge & leaned over the fence. After a slight hesitation, Sirius did the same.

"It's going to be dark soon," Sirius started.

"I know," Regulus said.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Regulus took a moment to look all around. "I really just wanted to try…this!" He threw himself on Sirius, almost flipping him over the rail.

"Whoa!" Sirius yelped, just barely grabbing on & keeping himself on the roof. "What did you do that fo…oh!" He suddenly realized as his brother groaned.

"Well that worked well," Regulus huffed.

Sirius sighed & leaned on the fence again. "Not fast enough. Nice try though."

"Gee thanks."

"You have to come up with something soon, Reggie," Sirius said.

"Let's just get it done now," Regulus said. "Just…go over."

"An odd will to live stops me from doing that," Sirius grumbled. "Not like I'm suicidal."

"You won't kill yourself," Regulus said. "Just do something stupid. Like sit on the rail. I'll do the rest."

"I appreciate the warning," Sirius glared. Regulus heaved a long sigh. "Fine, fine I'll do that." Sirius suddenly said after a few moments in silence. "Just get it over with."

"I'll wait until you're not expecting it," Regulus said.

"Will you quit warning me?" Sirius snapped. Regulus only shrugged. "I'm expecting. I'm expecting!"

"I didn't know guys could get pregnant," Regulus teased.

"Shut up or it'll be me who'll kill you!"

Several minutes passed in silence, Sirius feeling like he could go over at anytime. Then, Regulus made another move for him & almost succeeded.

"Wait a minute!" Sirius yelped, grabbing the rail & pulling himself over. "We can't do this just now."

Regulus groaned. "Why not?"

"Because!" Sirius yelped exasperatedly, heading for the trap door to go inside.

"Why?" Regulus demanded.

Sirius sighed & stopped walking. He turned to face his brother but found himself looking anywhere but where Regulus stood. "Because…I'm almost fifteen OK?"

"I know," Regulus nodded. "This isn't easy but think about it, you'll be a hero, saving the castle from this."

"That's…not it."

Regulus looked questioningly at him. "Then what is it?"

"I'm…I…I can't believe I'm having this particular conversation with you of all people!" Sirius huffed.

"And…what conversation is this…exactly?"

Sirius sighed & said rather quickly. "I'm still a virgin."

Regulus tipped his head back to glare at the sky. Sirius huffed, crossed his arms, pouted & did several other things that most fourteen year olds grew out of a long time ago. "I don't believe it!" Regulus suddenly screamed.

"I have absolutely no intention of dying until I lose my virginity!" Sirius shot back. "Not like anyone's dying. They're just sleeping. They can wait a bit longer. So…so there! That's final!"

"You're right," Regulus huffed. "You of all people. I'm stuck here discussing virginity with you! My life is ruined."

"So until I get a gal," Sirius went on. "I'm not doing this!"

Regulus glared at him. "That could take years."

"So?" Sirius grumbled. "It'll happen when it happens."

Regulus stared out over the grounds for a moment. "Alright! Alright." He dug into his pocket & pulled out his wallet. "Go to the hospital ward & get some ingredients for an aging potion. It takes only a few minutes to make." He handed over a few large coins, making Sirius stare. "When you look of age, go into some town, find a call girl & get back here on the double! Got it?"

"Find a ca…? I'm not going to do that!"

"Why not? It'll kill your virginity faster then I can kill you."

"But what if she has AIDS or something?" Sirius defended. "I could get sick."

"So?" Regulus looked pointedly at him. "I'm disposing of you a few minutes after so what difference does it make?"

"Oh I am not having this conversation with you! Uh-uh!" Sirius lifted the trap door. "We are not discussing how to lose my virginity in five minutes or less! Goodnight!"

Once his brother had disappeared, Regulus threw his head back & screamed in exasperation. "Good Merlin have mercy!"

"Of all the…" Sirius huffed, heading for his dorms. "I'm not losing my virginity to…to a prostitute!" He continued grumbling to himself until he reached the Fat Lady. Sirius just stared for a moment, grumbling inwardly. "Canis Minor!" he snapped. The Lady glared at him before opening. Once inside, he muttered to himself, "We just have to find another way. That's all there is to it!"

Sirius lay in bed, wondering what to do next. Finding a counter-spell didn't work. Trying to get killed didn't work & he most certainly did not feel like losing his virginity any time soon either, especially if it had to be paid for. "I'll get rid of it for free, be sure of that!" he grumbled, turning over to get to sleep.

Loud whooping woke him up several hours later. Sirius groaned & rolled over to check the time on the small Ansonia mantel clock that he had stolen off his mother's desk on his 11th birthday to use at Hogwarts. It was almost one in the afternoon. He sighed & got out of bed.

"I got it!" James yelped the moment Sirius stood up. "Someone left it on Professor Adelhide's desk with a note that they thought it might be mine." He shook the Invisibility Cloak in Sirius's face. "About bloody time!"

Sirius just shrugged. "Figured you'd find it sooner or later."

"Y-Yeah," James faltered as Sirius brushed past him. "What's up with you anyway?"

"What?"

"Well," James sighed. "You look over-tired. You've been moaning & moping around for a few weeks now. You're not seeing things are you?"

"Maybe I am," Sirius shrugged.

"You should go to the hospital wing," James started.

"Don't tell me what I should do right now!" Sirius snapped.

James stepped back & stared. "You're a lot more moody to."

"Whatever," Sirius muttered. "Just drop it."

"B-But-"

"I said drop it!"

"Fine."

Sirius left without another word. He wandered through the castle, wondering what to do next. As he passed the doors to the Great Hall, the surviving students started pouring out as the lunch hour ended but Regulus was not among them. He did not see Regulus again except at meal times for most of the week off. But any attempt to reach his brother had failed as Regulus had made it a point to avoid him, using other Slytherins as a shield.

By Saturday, Sirius was beyond desperation. It was as if Regulus had forgotten all about trying to restore Hogwarts to normal. Even though several more students had fallen during the spring break, there were no more attempts on his life; in fact, there was no contact at all. Frustrated, Sirius sat on an armchair in the library that evening, staring out the window into a mid-spring rainstorm. The wind was driving the raindrops mercilessly against the glass as Sirius felt more & more depressed. He soon turned his attention to a group of girls sitting across from him at a nearby table. They seemed to be discussing what had been happening & he strained to listen better.

"Well I think someone's against this school," said one girl. "We're obviously cursed somehow."

"It could be an accident, Jade," said another.

"Don't be ridiculous!" the one called Jade half-snapped at her friend. "How could this be an accident?"

"An experiment gone wrong. Wrong incantation said. That sort of thing."

"You're so naïve," Jade rolled her eyes.

"I wonder how many of us are left still standing?" said another girl.

"The Professors said only about a hundred students are left," said Jade.

"A hundred?" the others gasped.

"Yes," Jade said. "Out of just over one thousand."

"And apparently Professors Chao & Ferns aren't doing very well, either," said one.

"Great!" Jade scoffed. "First our Magical Creatures Professor. Now our Herbology Professor? And our Ancient Runes Professor too?"

"Looks like," said her friend. "There are no more 1st years & very few of the other years. The most that seem to be unaffected by this are the 6th & 7th years."

"I heard that the 4th Year is down to four or five students only," Jade added.

Sirius gasped. He was one of those four or five left! He began thinking hard at how many other 4th years he had seen in recent days. _Me, Jim, Peter._ He sighed. That was already three. _Lily Evans…who else?_ Sirius thought hard but the only other name he could come up with was Severus Snape but as he thought about it, he realised it had been a long time since he had seen that Slytherin. Sirius groaned, wishing he had paid more attention to the casualties.

"What I find strange is how they're in some sort of deep sleep," Jade went on.

"Yeah," one of her friends agreed. "It's like they're almost…clinically dead."

"Clinically dead?" Jade asked as Sirius leaned forward to listen.

"You're pure-blooded aren't you?" the other girl asked as Jade nodded. "Hmm well, in muggle hospitals it is death but it isn't either. "

"Oh," Jade stared, not quite getting it. Neither did Sirius.

"Anyway, I wonder how they're going to bring them back?"

Sirius groaned. They were changing the topic but he wanted to know more about this muggle condition of being clinically dead. He got up & hurried over to them. Looking pointedly at the girl who had first mentioned it, he asked, "What's this about being clinically dead?" Everyone stared at him as if they had been rudely interrupted. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Couldn't help over-hearing that part."

"Aren't you Sirius Black?" Jade asked.

"Yeah, got a problem with that?"

"Just your attitude," Jade said. "And could you tell your friend to leave my friend alone? Lily Evans. You should know all about her."

"I do," Sirius agreed. "But I'm not Jim's boss & I do not believe in stopping someone's love. I prefer to let fate handle it."

"Great, a fatalist," Jade said sarcastically. "Just what we need."

Sirius shrugged. "The clinic death thing, what is that?" he asked again.

"Not as easily distracted as we thought," Jade groaned. "And where is Lily anyway? She should be here."

"Who knows," her friend sighed. "Clinically dead means you've technically died but you're still capable of being brought back to life with CPR or something like that." Sirius nodded, looking thoughtful. "Should I explain CPR?"

"Uh…no. Don't need that."

"Anyway, it isn't always positive," the girl went on. "A lot of the time, the patients don't come back & they end up dead for real. For ever."

"Is there a set time for this?" Sirius suddenly asked.

"What?"

"How long can one be…clinically dead…before it's too late to even bother trying CPR?"

"About five or ten minutes usually."

"That's it!"

"Yes, that's it."

"I wasn't asking a question," Sirius said excitedly. "Something else. Thanks! Thank you! All of you." He was about to turn & run to find his brother but a certain impulse took over. He grabbed the girl, pulled her close to him & kissed her hard & fast on the lips before taking off at high speed, leaving several very confused young witches behind him.

It was near suppertime & Sirius hurried to the only place he would ever find his brother. He saw James standing by the open doors, watching what was going on inside & almost jumped on him. "Jim! James have you seen my brother?" Sirius stared at his friend who only blinked at him. Shaking him, he tried again. "James! Hello? Look at-"

A few Professors passed him, carrying a stretcher. By the time Sirius turned around, he could only see the head of whoever was lying on it. Long flaming-red hair draped over the edge & swayed with the movement as the procession moved forward. Sirius suddenly felt cold yet hot all over as he turned back to his friend. "James, where is Regulus? Please tell me you've seen him. It's important!"


	16. A Ghost Between Us

Alright this is the last chapter for _**Phantom Reality.**_

The sequel will be up & running soon enough; Year 5: _**The Adventurous Four**_ (Sees Roswell fans peering in curiously. Yes it's a swiped spin-off title of the "Royal Four pod-squad") Anyway, for all you werewolf fans out there, that'll be the year the MWPP are truly formed!

On a side note, my beta & I spent half a night trying to come up with a title for this chapter. Mine was "Brother Of Death " & his was the one chosen. How? Only after a long, tiresome and violent game of rock-scissors-paper had been played out between us…over YIM (yahoo's MSN version) cuz he's in New Zealand (I'm so tired, I wrote New York instead; but its Zealand not York lol) & I'm in Canada. "eyeroll" yeah…it was around 2 in the morning…for me at least. Pretty pathetic but anyway…lol

* * *

**(16) A Ghost Between Us**

It was a while before James did anything. Sirius had to maneuver him back into the Great Hall & sat his friend down on the bench by Gryfindor's table. "James. Answer me!"

"Over there," James pointed. "He's gone now."

"Any idea where?" Sirius was getting more desperate but James only shrugged.

"He said something about going to the barn," Peter said.

"The barn," Sirius repeated. "Alright, the barn. Jim?" He grabbed his friend by the head to force them to meet eyes. "Listen to me. She'll be all right. They all will. Lily will be fine."

"Lily?" James repeated.

"_Oui," _("Yes,") Sirius stood up to leave. He couldn't help but notice how lethargic & lost his friend looked. There was only one thing to do for him & everyone else.

"I have to see Lily," James suddenly stood up & staggered forward.

Sirius held him back. "She's fine. Just go to bed. You'll see her tomorrow."

"Now!" James snapped. "I want to see her now. I have to see her now."

"No, Jim," Sirius began. "Listen to me-"

"No!" James all but roared at him. Several students scattered sparsely throughout the hall turned to look. "Now."

Sirius sighed. "Peter, you take care of him. I have to find my brother." He barely saw Peter's nod as he ran away.

"What are you lot staring at?" Peter snapped at everyone who had dared turn to look. "Get back to your house tables. Now!" He glared importantly, looking more like a Professor than a student, as he led James out. For some odd reason, the other students decided to listen & scurried back to their seats as fast as possible.

Sirius reached the barn & hurried inside. He soon found Regulus behind the barn, bare-backing a unicorn. "We're not allowed to ride without permission." He began.

"I honestly don't care anymore," Regulus shrugged.

Sirius said nothing as he snatched a bridle from a hook & pulled it on a nearby unicorn. Startled, the horse shrieked in despair but its cries were ignored. Sirius jumped on a bale of hay & hopped on. "You realise this won't be an easy ride since we're not girls."

"Not our fault unicorns are sexist," Regulus kicked his horse a bit too hard into moving. It snorted angrily but obeyed.

"Sexist huh?" Sirius half-laughed as they entered the forest. Regulus only shrugged. "Unicorns are weird animals aren't they?"

"Hmpf!" Regulus agreed as his unicorn attempted to run away. "Well, these ones are the property of Hogwarts & have no choice but to obey."

"We're lucky they're just the common unicorns. The rare breeds are supposedly more stubborn," Sirius sighed. "So where are we going?"

"No where," said Regulus. "I just needed to get away for a bit. You know, after that girl passed out." Sirius just nodded. "Your friend was quite torn up after that."

"I know," Sirius said. "You've stopped trying to kill me. Why?"

"I've given up on that," Regulus leaned forward & grabbed the long gold mane as his unicorn prepared to buck. Feeling the weight shift, the horse sighed & decided to wait for another time. It clicked its horn against its friend's horn before breaking into an ungainly trot. "Nothing works & I'm really not into killing you or anyone else anymore. You remember that quarantine that was tried over Christmas? The ones that were sent away & not coming back apparently are still all right. Maybe the rest of us should leave too."

"And what about the ones left behind?" Sirius asked. "Are they to sleep for all eternity?"

"Better them than us," Regulus muttered as Sirius's unicorn hurried past before stopping abruptly, trying to rid itself of male attention.

"Stop it!" Sirius slapped the unicorn on the neck. The horse threw up its head, almost hitting its rider in the face. "Next time, we're using Thestrals!" Sirius glared at his brother as he jerked the reins back, almost ripping the bit out of the poor unicorn's mouth. "This beast needs to learn some manners." He shrugged, trying to feel better about being rather rough with the animal.

"And we wonder why they prefer girls. Why are you here anyway?" Regulus asked. "I really don't want to see you."

Sirius grabbed the bridle on Regulus's unicorn & turned them both around to head back to the barn. "Ever hear of being clinically dead?"

"No."

"Well that's the answer to all our problems," Sirius went on to explain what he had heard.

Regulus said nothing for a long time. The unicorns had been released. They had fled to the forest, snorting angrily & clicking their horns against each other. Regulus had hung up the bridles on their hooks. "Let me get this straight," He suddenly turned on his brother. "You want me to make some sort of potion that'll kill you & get the doctors to bring you back after five minutes?"

"Yes," Sirius said. "It's perfect for everyone. I'll be dead long enough to release the spell. Then I'll come back & I can lose my virginity on my own time."

"Right," Regulus scoffed.

"What's the matter?" Sirius taunted. "To muggle-ish for you? To…mudblooded?" He pushed Regulus around.

"No," Regulus retorted. "And will you stop pushing me?"

"Why? You don't like it?" Sirius shoved him around again. Regulus took a step back, glaring. He ran full force into his brother, shoving him right over. Sirius got up. "Not bad." When he was close enough, he punched Regulus hard, cutting his lip. "I've wanted to do that to you for ever."

"Fine!" Regulus wiped his face with his hand. "What do you want me to do?"

"Poison me & get me to Pomfrey & Cross on the double."

"What are the odds you'll come back?"

Sirius hesitated a moment. "Anyone who's ever been clinically dead apparently come back. It's very easy to resuscitate them."

Regulus didn't seem to believe him but he didn't have much choice. "I'll find something for you to drink. Meet me in the library tomorrow night."

Sirius spent most of the next day at the hospital wing. He sat by Remus all afternoon, wondering if this would be the last time he'd see his friend. What if Pomfrey or Cross could not bring him back? Then what? At least, everyone would wake up. Sirius only hoped he would too.

A few hours later, Sirius found James in the next room that was being used as an extension. Lily was lying in bed next to him & James hardly noticed anything else. Peter stood in one corner, arms folded. "He's been there since it happened." He nodded to James as Sirius stood beside him. "Won't move; won't eat. I don't know what to do."

"They'll be fine, Pete."

"How can you say that?" Peter almost snapped. "Do you know what's happening or how to end this?" Sirius didn't answer. "I thought so." A few minutes in silence passed. "You know there's only three 4th years left up & they're all here in this room." He adding, referring to himself, James & Sirius.

"Just like Professor Clarkson said," Sirius agreed. "Out of all in Divination 4th Year class, only 3 won't sleep. 4 will disappear for a few days; 3 sees death & one will do a dark deed." Sirius stopped & thought about that, suddenly realising, he'd be the third one to see death, literally. At first he had thought it was meant for James, Peter & Remus but Remus had already seen death long before he had even started school. His part was doing the dark dead of even thinking about disturbing the dead. James & Peter on the other hand, never had seen death until they had helped to dig up Romulus. Now it was Sirius's turn. Only problem was, he would be seeing his own.

"Not bad for a Diviner," Peter said.

"You have no idea," Sirius agreed, resigning to accept his fate.

All too soon, Sirius found himself waiting in the library for his brother. He didn't have to sit around for long as Regulus soon arrived a few minutes after he did. Regulus handed over a goblet. "I'll go read a book. Pretend like I was here & found you."

Sirius nodded as his brother turned & headed down the aisle. "So, this is it." He said to himself, staring into the goblet. He waited several minutes before finally downing the contents as fast as possible. Nothing happened. He walked around, waiting for it to take. After five minutes, he reached a gargoyle statue near the door & he was beginning to wonder whether his brother had tricked him. A sharp pain caught him by surprise & Sirius leaned against the statue until it passed. Once he felt better, he took a step forward, only to have his head spin & the floor hit him hard. A headache that was nothing short of a migraine pounded in his head & he could barely see anything.

"Professor Johnson!" Regulus called when he noticed the Dark Arts Professor near the desk. "Look Sir!" he pointed to his brother lying on the floor. Sirius was having convulsions as if he were in a seizure.

"What's wrong with him?" Professor Johnson & several others ran over as Regulus slowly returned to his book.

Peter had left James alone with Lily & was halfway down the hall when several Professors came running out of the library carrying someone.

"Watch out Mr. Pettigrew!" Professor Johnson almost knocked him over as he passed. Peter strained to look between bodies & saw Sirius. He looked dead.

"What happened to him?" Peter asked as he followed.

"We don't know," said Johnson. "Madam Pomfrey where's Cross? We have a bad case on our hands!"

Sirius was laid on a spare bed as Peter stopped & stood in the doorway to watch. The others were bustling around his friend, some with several different potion vials. Several minutes had passed & all were looking more & more anxious. Peter moved closer to listen.

"Edward, you better find out what happened to this boy & quick!" Dr. Cross was saying. "We're losing him."

"I'll go ask his brother," Johnson said. "He was the one that found him." The Dark Arts Professor hurried passed Peter, not even noticing him, while the others continued to work on Sirius.

Peter sat on the edge of a chair in the corner, waiting as the minutes ticked passed. Waiting was the worst part, he soon decided. He wondered if he shouldn't get James but decided against it. It would be impossible to drag him away from Lily.

Professor Johnson soon returned carrying an empty goblet. The group clustered around each other for a while & Peter was becoming more & more frustrated that he couldn't hear what was going on. He looked at Sirius who had suddenly gone very ridged before lying motionless on his bed. Dr. Cross also seemed to notice this & hurried over. After a quick examination, he looked up at the others. "He's dead."

Peter's eyes widened in horror as he stared. _Sirius was dead?_ It couldn't be. He suddenly leaped out of the chair & fled the scene. He had to face James now; there was no doubt about that.

"We'll deal with Pettigrew later," Dr. Cross said. "This is some sort of poison. If we can get it out of him fast enough, we might be able to bring him back. But we need to find where it is in Black's body now! If it's already in his heart & brain it's too late so let's get moving. _Maximus Rayum_!" Sirius's body glowed as an x-ray-like charm drifted over him & soon Dr. Cross & Madam Pomfrey could see an inverted version of their newest patient.

It took about three minutes to trace the path of the poison. Sure enough, it had already reached Sirius's heart, which had caused his death, & it was slowly creeping outward & upward. It took a few more minutes to drain it all from him.

"Did you get it all, Poppy?" Dr. Cross asked almost ten minutes later. She nodded. "Alright," Dr. Cross glanced at the seven candles on the desk. _"Templarus!_" The candles flickered & their flames rose to form numbers in the air, showing the time. "Oh Merlin! He's been dead for almost seven minutes."

"Let's try anyway," Madam Pomfrey said. "It'll take both of us."

"Alright," Dr. Cross agreed. The two of them stood on either side of Sirius & pointed both their wands at his heart. "_Cardiovoltus!"_

It had been a few hours since Regulus had last seen his brother. He had yet to leave the library, wondering if their plan had worked or not. And if it did work, how well did it go? Would everyone be revived or would he be a murderer? Regulus closed the book he was reading, 'Medicine & Muggles', put it back on the shelf & decided it was now or never. He left the library & made his way towards the hospital wing.

Sirius was still lying on his bed but whether he was sleeping or dead Regulus did not know. He had decided to come to the room where his brother was last, checking all the other rooms first but finally, he was here. Regulus sat on the bed, waiting.

"Th'was n'ther kick er gen'le."

Regulus started at the low murmur. He had been sitting by himself for almost fifteen minutes & was quite certain Sirius wasn't revived. "W-What?"

Sirius turned his head to stare sleepily at his brother. "I said: that was neither quick or gentle."

"Oh," Regulus said stupidly. "Well, serves you right for punching me back in the barn."

"Nah you deserved it." Sirius mumbled. He slowly pushed himself up until he was half-lying, half-sitting.

"So," Regulus began, glaring at him. "You lied to me." Sirius looked at him questioningly. "You said this clinic death thing was easy to reverse."

"I had to say something," Sirius defended. "Anyway, it was for me wasn't it? I'm still here."

"Lucky bastard is all," Regulus shrugged, earning a death-like glare.

Sirius sat up a little higher & looked around, feeling more & more forlorn by the moment. Everyone was still in bed & still sleeping. "It didn't work!" he fell back on his pillow, almost crying. "We didn't do anything. No one's awake."

Regulus only watched him before slowly glancing around the room. "Well," he stared at Sirius, slowly blinking. "Not in this room yet."

Sirius sharply sat up straight. "What?"

"Others are awake in the other wards," Regulus said. "It seems to be the ones who fell first are waking up first so they'll all probably will in time."

Over the course of the next few weeks, almost everyone woke up. Sirius had told the doctors that he had made the potion himself, just experimenting & didn't realise he had used anything dangerous. This took attention off Regulus who was glad it was finally all over.

James, Peter & Sirius sat around Remus's bed one evening, waiting for him to move. "Shouldn't be to long," Peter said after a few minutes.

"Where am I?" Remus mumbled as if on cue.

"About time!" the three of them pounced simultaneously.

"Ah! What happened?" Remus threw them off. "Why are you looking at me as if I died? What's goi-"

"Shut up Rem!" Sirius grumbled. "You talk too much."

"Yeah," James agreed. "I think I liked him better asleep."

"Now I wish he never woke up," Peter agreed. Remus only glared at them.

"Just about everyone in the castle fell," Sirius explained once they had stopped laughing. "Even Professors Shepherd & Chao."

"Apparently, even Snivelus did," James added with a sly grin. "And Lily, but she should be up in a day or two."

"Everyone just started waking up last week," Peter went on. "No one can explain it." Sirius glanced around & saw Regulus & Severus with their other friend, Lucius Malfoy, at the far end. There were two people in this room that could explain it but both would rather take the secret to their graves.

"Sirius died!" James's voice brought Sirius back to attention.

"Oh?" Remus stared suspiciously at James. "What did he do to make you kill him?"

"No n-er uh," James stammered at Remus's glare. "_Non non,"_ ("No no,") he rephrased himself. "He died! He fooled around with some stuff & made a potion & tried it. It killed him."

"They had to jump his heart three times," Peter added with an eye roll.

"Five times!" Sirius corrected. Peter only looked pointedly at Remus & mouthed the word 'three' to him.

"Wha-what?" Remus stared. "You actually...died?"

"That's right," Sirius nodded. "So, now I will be able to see Thestrals, right?"

"I...wouldn't know," Remus shrugged.

"What?" Sirius yelped.

"Well, you died yourself," Remus explained. "You didn't see someone else die. It's usually if you see a dead body or something. So unless you had an out-of-body experience & saw your own dead body...I doubt it." Sirius only huffed. "Oh by the way, that was rather stupid of you to fool around with ingredients you don't know." Remus added as an after thought.

Sirius crossed his arms & pouted. "Did you just call me stupid & a fool all in the same sentence?"

"_Oui._" ("Yes.")

"I hate you."

"I don't care."

Once everyone was up & Hogwarts was back to normal, Headmaster Dippet called for a school-wide meeting in the Great Hall. After everyone had settled down to a good supper, the Headmaster stood up. "It is near the end of the school year," he began. "For those of you who were out of commission for most of the year, we have set up a crash course, if you will excuse the expression, to be completed during the summer." He was answered with groans across the hall. "It'll help you catch up on what you missed over this year," Dippet went on when there was silence again. "Now as most of the 4th Years have fallen, they will find their next year especially hard as the OWLs exams are due at the end of 5th Year. We have a specially designed course for you to complete during summer & you will have a special class added in your 5th Year to help you prepare for this. Professor Dumbledore will add your schedules to your luggage at the end of the month when you all return home. That is all. Now," he tapped his hat with his wand. "Let's eat!"


	17. Chapter 17

Hi y'all! Don't worry, I'm still here. I am actually working on this, editing the first 4 years before going on. I've been fixing the timeline screwups at last! I'm removing Arthur/Molly from all but the first year, making them a whole lot older. So from now on, when you see the name "Amanda Shores" that'll be a random girlfriend for Lily in place of Molly. Asher Chris has replaced Arthur Weasley on the Gryf Team.

I'm nearly done & then I can post the new chapter for year 5 so then y'all can go skim over year 1 to catch anything Arthur/Molly. There won't be much but at or near the end I have written in his marriage proposal to her if anyone wants to look when I start posting again.

Also, I've removed all the "Prewett" names completely; Mark Rodgers has replaced Gideon Prewett on the Gryf Team. I think after the 7 years are done, I can use the Prewetts & other things to fill in the gap from then till HP & TPS/SS.

Oh yes, just so anyone doesn't worry. Year 5 will go on soon enough...but this timeline thing was bugging me as much as I'm sure it was bugging you lot. LOL

Hopefully by the end of this week I'll be done that once my beta has finished picking through things with me. Lol

(On a side note, he's the one that gave me the idea to do this, complaining about any chapter with Arthur/Molly in it "eyeroll" :P)


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